Chapter 29

Ye Shu looked at the handsome eyes so close to his own, and for a moment he felt dazed.

Was he worried about Jin Wang?

He couldn't say himself.

He clearly disliked this person so much — so why, seeing Jin Wang hurt for his sake, did something inside him feel so… unsettled?

Now that he had calmed down, Ye Shu had finally worked out why Changyuan had done what he did. And he could tell that Jin Wang had already figured it out too.

That only made the feeling worse.

Was this man an idiot? Why had he blocked that blow for him?!

"…Idiot." Ye Shu said quietly.

Jin Wang hadn't heard clearly. "What did you say?"

"I said who's worried about you." Ye Shu pushed his hand away and turned his head aside. "Falling for such a simple scheme — I don't know what's going on in your head."

Changyuan, crouched nearby wiping away bloodstains: "…"

Jin Wang gave a quiet laugh. The heavy atmosphere in the room seemed to dissolve in that sound.

He reached out and pulled Ye Shu to his feet. "Is that right — you fell for such a simple ruse of Ours too, and almost frightened yourself to tears. What's going on in your head?"

Ye Shu: "…"

How mortifying.

Ye Shu insisted: "That was the blood. I faint at blood."

Jin Wang touched the corner of Ye Shu's eye with the pad of his finger, wiping away a near-fallen tear, and nodded cooperatively. "Yes, yes — if you say so, We believe you."

"…"

Ye Shu was too irritated to speak.

He stood to leave, but Jin Wang caught him.

Jin Wang swept the odds and ends off the dressing table and set Ye Shu on it. He planted both hands naturally on the table, boxing him in with his arms.

He looked into those still-slightly-moist eyes and said quietly: "A Shu — We are very happy."

Ye Shu's eyes moved.

"First — you did not conspire with anyone again, nor continue planning to escape." Jin Wang's voice dropped to almost nothing, like a small hammer tapping softly at Ye Shu's heart. "Second — you didn't want Us hurt. You didn't want to harm Us."

Jin Wang's hand drifted to the back of Ye Shu's hand and covered it, intertwining gently. He repeated: "A Shu. I am very happy."

He said "I."

Ye Shu couldn't bear Jin Wang speaking to him in this tone.

He looked down at their joined hands, something soft and aching rising in his chest — he was nearly on the verge of surrendering entirely.

Ye Shu turned his head away and couldn't bring himself to look at him. He murmured: "You get hurt and you're still happy — doesn't the wound hurt?"

"It does." Jin Wang's eyes were smiling. He said quietly: "It hurts a great deal."

Ye Shu's gaze fell to Jin Wang's forearm.

He had indeed done a terrible job of bandaging it. The gauze was wound in a mess, the bleeding hadn't fully stopped — small spots of red were seeping through the white cloth.

Ye Shu suddenly felt somewhat dizzy again and quickly grabbed Jin Wang's hand. "You should call the physician to look at this — your wound is—"

"No need." Jin Wang leaned close to Ye Shu's ear, his voice dropping low and soft. "Kiss Us once and the pain will be gone."

"…"

"A Shu — We were hurt for you."

He paused and added: "It has been many years since We were last hurt."

The fingers holding Jin Wang's hand trembled faintly.

Jin Wang was the sovereign of a nation — even the slightest illness would have a whole group of people fussing over him from every direction. And yet now, this person had been injured for his sake and was concealing the whole matter.

Jin Wang had found his weakness and had it in a firm grip.

An inexplicable heat crept up the side of Ye Shu's face. His voice came out a little rough. "Then you… close your eyes."

"Alright." Jin Wang closed his eyes.

Ye Shu drew a deep breath and tilted his head up.

Jin Wang had kissed him many times, and he had initiated just as many — but all of those had been performances.

This felt entirely different.

Those lips were cool, and just as soft as he remembered. Ye Shu hadn't had time to think about where that subtle, strange feeling of losing control was coming from — when footsteps behind him interrupted.

He instinctively pushed Jin Wang back and turned around — only to find Changyuan's panicked eyes looking at him.

Changyuan was standing not far behind them, his expression flustered, his ears scarlet. "I… I didn't see anything!"

Seemingly feeling that statement lacked any persuasive power, Changyuan added: "I'll go wipe the floor again!"

Ye Shu: "…"

Jin Wang: "…"

Jin Wang pressed his fingers to his brow. "Come back."

A moment later, Jin Wang sat in the main seat and picked up the teacup beside him for a sip.

In front of him, Ye Shu and Changyuan stood and knelt respectively, master and subordinate, both hanging their heads.

Jin Wang set the teacup down and said mildly: "So you heard that Our favored consort was in Chengqian Palace today and thought to use him to escape the palace?"

Changyuan: "…Yes."

Changyuan had been under house arrest for days and didn't know Ye Shu had returned to the palace. Today, finding his chance, he had knocked out a shadow guard and escaped. He had heard that His Majesty's newly favored Consort An was in Chengqian Palace, and thought to threaten this person into helping cover his escape — only to discover that…

"Ahem…" Ye Shu gave a small cough. "It's… it's all my fault."

"It's not Young Master's fault." Changyuan said quickly. "This subordinate acted foolishly for a moment. Your Majesty should punish this subordinate — please don't implicate Young Master."

Ye Shu also said: "Don't — the original plan to escape was all my idea. This had nothing to do with him—"

"Be quiet." Jin Wang shot him a cold glance. "Your own punishment for the earlier escape hasn't been fully dealt with. And you're already forgetting your lesson?"

Ye Shu: "…"

"Changyuan aided a rear-palace consort in escaping, assaulted Our shadow guards, and injured the sovereign." Jin Wang said leisurely. "Any one of these crimes alone is enough for a sentence of death."

Ye Shu looked steadily at Jin Wang. His gaze quietly conveyed a wordless grievance.

Jin Wang looked away, composed. "…Death can be waived, but lesser punishment cannot be spared. This person cannot remain by your side."

"But—"

Jin Wang interrupted: "Unless you want him to become an inner attendant?"

"…"

An inner attendant — wasn't that a eunuch.

Changyuan was the stubbornly single-minded type. Without a moment's thought, he said: "If I can remain by Young Master's side, this subordinate would be will—"

"You be quiet!" Ye Shu looked at Changyuan, currently dressed in full eunuch costume, and thought of how that outfit might one day become reality. His scalp crawled. "No. Absolutely not under any circumstances."

"Young Master…"

Ye Shu had a headache.

He couldn't possibly let poor little Changyuan stay in the palace as a eunuch — that would be far too degrading.

Ye Shu thought for a moment and asked Jin Wang: "Your Majesty — my family's assets. Shouldn't those be returned to me by now?"

Jin Wang nodded. "They can be."

In addition to the Ye estate itself, the Ye family had dozens of shops throughout the capital.

Ye Shu said: "Changyuan — I'm entrusting the Ye family's assets to you from now on."

Changyuan hesitated. "But this subordinate doesn't know how to—"

"Then learn!" Ye Shu said. "You'll just be managing the family holdings outside the palace on my behalf — you're still working for me. In any case, look after those shops properly, and don't go squandering my fortune. Understood?"

Changyuan: "…Yes. This subordinate understands."

Jin Wang promptly summoned Gaojin and gave the order to start processing the matter. Changyuan was taken away, leaving only Jin Wang and Ye Shu in the hall.

Ye Shu said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your lenience."

Just as Jin Wang had said — every single one of Changyuan's crimes was enough to cost him his life.

This outcome had exceeded Ye Shu's expectations.

"Just a thank-you?" Jin Wang asked with a smile.

Ye Shu: "What does Your Majesty want?"

Jin Wang thought for a moment, then looked toward the window. "The snow has stopped. Walk with Us."

The heavy snowfall had come and gone quickly. The overcast clouds had parted, revealing a sky full of stars and a crescent moon.

Outside Chengqian Palace, the snow had piled deep. Several palace servants were out sweeping. Seeing the two emerge, they all dropped to their knees in greeting.

Jin Wang brought no attendants — he simply took Ye Shu's hand and walked slowly through the snow.

Glass palace lanterns burned steadily on both sides of the path, and the long corridors of the palace seemed to stretch without end. The red walls and golden tiles were blanketed in snow. A red plum tree reached over the wall, its branches encased in snow and ice, like crystalline flowers blooming in glass.

Ye Shu's fingers itched at the sight. The moment Jin Wang's attention drifted, he reached out toward the snow on the plum branches.

"Ye Shu." Jin Wang called out coolly.

"…" Ye Shu made an instant decision and plucked a red plum branch instead, turning to offer it over. "For Your Majesty."

He was wrapped in snow-white fox fur. The hand holding the branch was slender and pale, the fingertips flushed pink from the cold.

His eyes were bright and laughing, holding within them the vivid plum blossoms and Jin Wang's own reflection.

Jin Wang dragged his gaze away from those eyes with some difficulty, accepted the branch, and felt his throat go somewhat dry. "How many times do We have to say it — admiring snow does not mean playing in it."

A kun-sovereign's constitution was particularly delicate during pregnancy, and touching snow would easily bring on a chill.

Ye Shu hadn't known why Jin Wang was always managing him until now — and now he understood.

He gave a low hum, and for once didn't argue. He instinctively pulled the fox fur tighter.

"In ten days, the Dayan envoy will arrive in Changlu. You will attend the imperial banquet as the sovereign's consort." Jin Wang said.

Ye Shu had most of his face buried in the white fox fur. He tilted his head to look at him. "Does Your Majesty mean the senior consort, or Consort An?"

Jin Wang looked back at him and said seriously: "We mean you. Whichever identity you wear."

Ye Shu held his gaze for a moment, then looked away. "This subject understands."

The palace servants who had been sweeping in the distance had long since vanished. Ye Shu looked at the snow piled on the roadside, then suddenly called out: "Jin Wang."

"Would you like to build a snowman?"

"…" Jin Wang said: "You are not allow—"

"Not allowed to play in the snow." Ye Shu mimicked Jin Wang's cadence and snatched the plum branch from his hand in one swift motion. "So you build it. I'll watch."

Jin Wang: "But We have never built a snowman."

"That's fine — I'll teach you." Ye Shu said with genuine encouragement. "You can do it."

However, His Majesty the sovereign's snowman-building ability turned out to be exactly as disastrous as his cooking.

One incense-stick's time later, Ye Shu stared at the peculiar white mass before him — lopsided, with eyes and nose arranged at crooked angles — and his expression twitched. "That's… quite something?"

Jin Wang brushed the snow from his robes and said displeased: "Your tone sounds extremely forced."

Ye Shu said honestly: "Because the result looks extremely forced."

In truth, "forced" was being generous. This was an offense to the eyes.

It had also, for no reason, ruined what had otherwise been a beautiful snow scene.

Jin Wang said coldly: "This was Our first attempt. That it came out with any recognizable shape at all is impressive. It is certainly better than yours on your first try."

Ye Shu spread his hands innocently. "I've never built one before."

"…" Jin Wang gritted his teeth. "You don't know how and you gave Us terrible instructions."

"I've seen other people do it just like this!"

"Ye Qi'an!"

"I'm not lying to you — everyone builds them like that! How was I to know yours would come out so hideous!"

Ye Shu said his piece and immediately tried to bolt. Jin Wang caught him in one hand.

Before he could get angry, Ye Shu suddenly clutched his stomach and crouched down.

Jin Wang's expression changed at once. "What's wrong?"

Ye Shu hung his head. His voice was small. "A little pain…"

Jin Wang instantly lost all trace of playfulness. He bent down to scoop him up.

The next moment, a face full of snow hit him squarely.

It was a rare occasion when His Majesty the sovereign was caught quite so off-guard — hair and collar both showered in white, expression still faintly dazed, making him look unexpectedly endearing. Ye Shu laughed until he toppled backward, his snow-white figure nearly indistinguishable from the snow around him.

"Ye Qi'an!" Jin Wang brushed the snow from his face and went straight for him.

Ye Shu was grabbed by Jin Wang and pinned against the palace wall.

Flecks of snow still clung to Jin Wang's brows, somehow making his features even more striking. He pressed the tip of his icy nose against Ye Shu's cheek and said coldly: "So bold now — daring to disrespect your sovereign?"

Ye Shu shivered from the cold and immediately begged for mercy. "Your Majesty, I was wrong…"

Jin Wang wasn't buying it.

He raised his hand and peeled off the face mask. He looked down at Ye Shu. "You dared show disrespect, so you'd better be prepared to pay the price. We will punish you——"

Ye Shu suddenly tipped his head up and kissed him on the corner of those cool lips.

Jin Wang's expression froze.

The two of them had been out in the snow too long. Everything about them was cold.

Only their breath was scalding — hot enough to burn.

A moment later, Ye Shu drew back, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Is that enough of an apology, Your Majesty?"

Jin Wang had already forgotten what he had been about to say. He struggled to hold onto his thoughts. "Don't think you can just—"

Ye Shu kissed him again.

This time it lasted longer than before.

The moonlight was cold and clear, falling across red walls and white snow, casting the shadows of two figures embracing against the wall.

Still so easy to manage.

Ye Shu glanced up at Jin Wang under his lashes and thought quietly to himself.

Though, it genuinely did feel different from the times he had been performing.

He didn't dislike it.

There was even something that could be called… liking it.

Just a little.