Chapter 14

It was not until dusk that Changyuan finally left the Imperial Study.

The door to the Imperial Study opened and closed again. Chief Attendant Gaojin stepped inside, only to find Jin Wang slumped in the dragon throne, wearily pressing his fingers to his brow.

Gaojin walked over. "Is Your Majesty fatigued? This servant can rub your temples."

"Never mind." Jin Wang waved a hand and asked: "What is Chancellor Ye doing right now?"

"Chancellor Ye is still sleeping."

The tiredness on Jin Wang's face eased a little. A warmth stirred at the bottom of his eyes. "Sleeping the whole afternoon away, this fellow."

Gaojin ventured cautiously: "This servant has noticed that Chancellor Ye's spirits have been poor these past few days. It may be… excessive exertion has taken a toll on his body."

Jin Wang gave him a sideways look. "Are you saying We have no self-restraint?"

"This servant would not dare."

The chief attendant kept his eyes lowered and his manner obedient, yet every inch of his face read: "Does Your Majesty not know yourself?"

Jin Wang said irritably: "These past few days We have not even——"

…not even laid a hand on him. Not once.

After that night that had come to nothing, Jin Wang had tactfully consulted the imperial physician.

The physician had explained it like this: "The qian-sovereign's pheromone is imperceptible, yet it exerts an enormous influence on a kun-sovereign, far stronger than ordinary wine. Furthermore, the Breath-Suppressing Pills that Chancellor Ye has been taking have suppressed his own pheromones, making it impossible for them to resonate with Your Majesty's."

"He can smell it, and he reacts to it, but he cannot absorb it — that is why he passes out."

In short: unless Ye Shu stopped taking the medication, he would never be able to face Jin Wang's pheromones while remaining conscious.

There was of course another method — the qian-sovereign could deliberately suppress his own pheromone release during intimate activity.

…But that was more miserable than abstinence.

Jin Wang neither wanted to deprive himself nor did he want to do anything with someone who was not fully conscious. So these past few days, while there had been intimacy between him and Ye Shu, it had never truly gone all the way.

Thinking about all this made Jin Wang want to explode, and of course people kept walking right into his crosshairs.

Gaojin had served Jin Wang for many years and was expert at reading his moods. Seeing his master's irritation, he quickly said: "This servant just had the imperial kitchen prepare the pastries Chancellor Ye loves most. It is now time for the evening meal — shall Your Majesty wake Chancellor Ye to eat?"

Sure enough, the mere mention of Ye Shu softened Jin Wang's expression considerably.

Jin Wang said: "We will go wake him ourselves. Have the meal set out."

Ye Shu disliked light while sleeping, so only one dimly glowing glass lantern had been lit in the outer chamber of the bedchamber. Jin Wang entered alone. The young man was still buried in the soft bedding, fast asleep.

He had asked Changyuan a great many questions today.

About every last peculiarity, every strange occurrence, every detail of Ye Shu's past three years — nothing too small to mention.

What the guard said, Jin Wang didn't fully believe.

But one thing was clear — these three years had not been as simple as he had imagined.

Was it a case of substitution, or were there other circumstances?

Jin Wang couldn't work it out right now.

He sat down at the bedside and looked at the sleeping figure, murmuring quietly like a sigh: "Just how many secrets do you have that We don't know about?"

The young man on the bed suddenly said with his eyes still closed: "Not telling you."

Jin Wang: "…"

For a moment Jin Wang thought the young man had been deliberately pretending to sleep — but in the next second, he heard Ye Shu mumble again: "Why should I tell you… you miserable Jin Wang."

Jin Wang: "………………"

Good. Still asleep.

Jin Wang was so furious he nearly laughed. He bent down, closing the distance between them to almost nothing. "Say that again?"

Even in his dream Ye Shu seemed to sense the pressure from outside, and his brow furrowed slightly. His lips moved: "You mis——"

He hadn't even finished the word before someone pressed his lips shut forcefully.

Jin Wang applied a bit of force, licking and nipping at those soft lips, drawing from them greedily.

Ye Shu woke up in the midst of that breathless kiss.

He opened his eyes, and his blurry vision immediately met that pair of handsome eyes.

The two of them looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Ye Shu blinked dazedly. Jin Wang composed himself and let go of him. "Awake?"

"I…"

Ye Shu hadn't yet come fully out of his long sleep. He tilted his head, and belatedly raised a hand to touch his own numbed lips.

Jin Wang was utterly charmed by that bewildered look of his, and couldn't resist giving the young man's cheek a pinch.

Warm and smooth. Very satisfying to touch.

Ye Shu's consciousness gradually returned, and he demanded: "You were taking liberties with me again while I was asleep?"

"No." Jin Wang pulled his hand back. Before Ye Shu could press further, he added: "We were doing so openly."

Ye Shu: "…"

Someone knocked at the hall door — attendants bringing the evening meal.

Jin Wang straightened up. "Stop sleeping. Get up and eat."

These past few days, Ye Shu had been sleeping a lot and eating a lot, and his tastes had become extremely picky. No plain vegetable dishes, no meat, no spicy food, and nothing cooked with ginger or spring onion either — he was more difficult to please than the sovereign himself.

And yet the sovereign was perfectly happy to indulge him, ordering the imperial kitchen daily to come up with new dishes he would enjoy.

An entire table was laid with rare delicacies and fine dishes. Ye Shu swept his eyes over them, and his gaze landed on a small, exquisite pastry.

Jin Wang understood without being told and placed it in Ye Shu's dish. "This one?"

"Mm." Ye Shu nodded.

The pastry's crust was perfectly textured — not too soft, not too hard — sprinkled with sesame seeds. The filling inside was a pale pink, sweet and tart in just the right measure, and left a lingering fragrance after every bite.

Ye Shu narrowed his eyes in contentment.

Jin Wang had not touched his chopsticks. He quietly watched Ye Shu finish one piece. Only when Ye Shu was about to take another did he say leisurely: "We recall that beloved subject didn't used to like this sort of pastry."

Ye Shu's hand paused. The pastry fell onto the table.

"We recall that last year, at the banquet for the court ministers, the palace had invited a great chef from Yangzhou who specialized in pastries and sweet soups." Jin Wang paused. "Beloved subject said you didn't care for sweet foods — you didn't touch a single thing that evening."

"Was… was there really such an occasion?" Ye Shu thought for a moment and gave a small laugh. "Your Majesty said it himself — that was in the past. I used to not like sweet, rich foods, but people's tastes change. What's so strange about that?"

Jin Wang smiled. "Oh, is that so."

Neither of them brought it up again. Jin Wang placed another piece of pastry in Ye Shu's dish, and the meal continued in pleasant, comfortable harmony.

Only the chief attendant standing to the side looked completely baffled.

When had His Majesty hosted a banquet for the court ministers last year? And where had this chef from Yangzhou come from?

Chancellor Ye didn't eat sweet foods… so why had His Majesty sent imperial pastries to the Ye manor all those years?

Was his own memory wrong???

Full and satisfied, Ye Shu lay back on the soft couch with his eyes half-closed, lazily rubbing his stomach like a sated cat.

Jin Wang looked up from his documents. "Are you unwell?"

"No." Ye Shu said. "Just a bit full…"

Jin Wang's expression became one of realization. "You overate again."

"…"

Ye Shu gave a low hum and couldn't be bothered to respond.

The hall was quiet. For a while the only sound was the rustle of documents in Jin Wang's hands.

Ye Shu quickly drifted drowsy again. After some unknown stretch of time, he was scooped up in someone's arms.

As though sensing a familiar warmth, Ye Shu didn't open his eyes, but his hands rose naturally and hooked around Jin Wang's neck.

No matter when, that gesture of dependence was always enough to please someone.

Jin Wang lightened his footsteps and set him carefully on the bed.

The moment Ye Shu's body touched the soft bedding, he stretched out comfortably. He opened his eyes halfway and rubbed them with his hand. "Did you finish your documents?"

Jin Wang: "Not yet. Rest first."

"That won't do." Ye Shu was instantly alert and struggled to sit up. "You'll use it as an excuse to torment someone later…"

Jin Wang's expression tightened. "…Lie down."

Ye Shu meekly stopped moving.

Jin Wang: "Take off your outer robe and go to sleep."

Ye Shu obligingly complied.

He removed his shoes, socks, and outer robe and set them to one side. Jin Wang bent down and carefully removed the hair ornament at the back of his head.

His long hair cascaded across the bed like a waterfall.

Jin Wang looked at him and said quietly: "Tomorrow, we will return to the palace."

This came as no surprise to Ye Shu.

His Majesty had used "recovering from injury" as his excuse to stay at the traveling palace for nearly half a month now, neither attending court nor granting audiences, handling only the most urgent state matters.

It hadn't quite reached the point of neglecting governance, but his efficiency had certainly suffered greatly.

Not to mention that the novel's plot — which had been on hold from the moment Ye Shu transmigrated in — had yet to pick up again.

Fortunately, His Majesty had at last today remembered that he still had a country to govern.

Ye Shu thought this expressionlessly.

How wonderful. How delightful.

But in the next moment, Jin Wang said: "The preparations for the wedding ceremony are imminent. We will personally oversee them."

"…"

Jin Wang smiled. "Sleep — we'll need to make an early start tomorrow."

This man really had no ambition at all!

He must have transmigrated into a pirated version of the novel??

The following morning, the sovereign's carriage set out from the traveling palace toward the imperial city.

The sovereign kept this journey low-key — only a handful of sword-bearing guards accompanied the carriage on either side, while the majority remained concealed in the shadows.

At the very front of the convoy, Changyuan rode on horseback, vigilantly scanning his surroundings.

Ye Shu let the carriage curtain fall back into place and quietly exhaled.

Jin Wang had, after all, been true to his word, and had not moved against Changyuan.

"You see — We did not deceive you." Inside the carriage, Jin Wang sipped his tea at leisure.

Ye Shu nodded and said sincerely: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing his life."

"Just a word of thanks?"

Ye Shu asked with patient restraint: "What does Your Majesty want?"

Jin Wang did not rush to answer.

He regarded Ye Shu with an appraising look, then tilted his head and smiled. "We want you to exchange a secret — one that absolutely no one else could know. No lying."