Chapter 30 - 2#

He should sleep.

His head was full of Yanzhi, and he couldn’t think at all.

Sleep for a while and then go find Yanzhi; sleep for a bit and then go immediately.

Xiao Cuan breathed in Yanzhi’s scent, and suddenly his throat tightened, his heart stirring.

He reached for one of Yanzhi’s inner garments on the couch and sniffed it carefully.

This was Yanzhi’s close-fitting garment, plain white, small and delicate. Yanzhi had worn it for a while; the fabric was soft, and there were even some loose threads.

But because it was closest to Yanzhi’s body and had been worn for a long time, its scent was the most fragrant and softest.

Xiao Cuan lay on his side on the couch, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he struggled to restrain himself.

But in the end, he couldn’t hold back. He grabbed the inner garment, unfastened his own single layer of clothing, and pressed it down hard.

The moment Yanzhi’s inner garment wrapped around him, he arched his body and couldn’t help but groan.

“Mm—Yanzhi—”

In a daze, he seemed to return to the bed in the main hall of the Taiji Hall, pressing Yanzhi down, lifting Yanzhi’s legs, kissing Yanzhi’s cheeks, and kissing away the teardrops that hung on his face because of his extreme pleasure.

He held Yanzhi entirely in his arms; he could manipulate Yanzhi at will, and bully him as he pleased.

At the peak of his passion, Xiao Cuan called out in a low voice: “Zhizhi—”

Yanzhi had been gone too long, and Xiao Cuan had been doing this for a long time.

Half an hour later, Xiao Cuan buried himself in Yanzhi’s quilt, greedily sniffing Yanzhi’s scent, and finally used Yanzhi’s inner garment to wipe away the large stains.

In the boundary between sleep and waking, a familiar, lighthearted voice seemed to come—

“Your Majesty!”

Xiao Cuan snapped awake, opened his eyes, and looked up.

It was a dream.

Yanzhi hadn’t called him, and Yanzhi hadn’t returned.

There was nothing.

Suddenly, for a moment, he hated his innate alertness.

If he had just slept through it, would he have dreamed of Yanzhi?

Thinking this, Xiao Cuan collapsed back onto the couch, closed his eyes again, and grabbed Yanzhi’s inner garment once more.

One more time; he couldn’t wait any longer. He had to see Yanzhi tonight, even if it was only in a dream.

As long as he could see Yanzhi.

“Yanzhi… Zhizhi…”

—“Your Majesty!”

After an unknown amount of time, the familiar voice came again.

A familiar blue robe flashed by, leading him into a dream.

Xiao Cuan suppressed his instinctive reaction, allowing himself to sink into the dreamscape.

In the dream—

Yanzhi was alone in a small room in an unknown southern village, suffering from a cold and illness.

Yanzhi was in great distress. He opened his eyes in a daze, and seeing Xiao Cuan, he reached out his arms and cried to him: “Your Majesty… Your Majesty… It hurts so much…”

Xiao Cuan stood by the couch, clenching his fists, instinctively about to scold him.

—Who told you to run around?

—Who told you to run so far alone?

—Now that you’re sick, don’t call for me; it’s useless. A disobedient puppy should be taught a lesson.

Seeing that he wouldn’t hold him and had such a terrible expression, Yanzhi cried even harder.

While crying, he kept saying he wouldn’t dare again, wouldn’t run away again, and would always stay by the Emperor’s side.

After an unknown time, Xiao Cuan felt that the lesson was enough, so he loosened his fists and reached out to pick him up.

—Do you want to drink the bitter medicine prescribed by the imperial physician, or do you want to eat what I give you…

Before he could finish, Yanzhi’s eyes lit up. He lunged forward, but actually passed right through his body.

Xiao Cuan whirled around, only to see Yanzhi lunging into the arms of a strange man!

That man caught Yanzhi, just as he used to catch him!

—“Chu, Yu!”

The Xiao Cuan in the Taiji Hall and the Yanzhi in his dream shouted at the same time.

Xiao Cuan opened his eyes again and sat up from the couch.

He had finally dreamed of Yanzhi, and Yanzhi had finally entered his dream, but everything was ruined by this Chu Yu.

Chu Yu, he deserves to die!

While he didn’t know, was this how Yanzhi and this Chu Yu interacted?

Would they also hug? Would Yanzhi’s eyes also sparkle like stars when he saw Chu Yu?

When he found Yanzhi, he would definitely kill this Chu Yu!

Tear him apart! A thousand cuts!

Xiao Cuan… and you, Xiao Cuan!

Xiao Cuan punched himself again.

You finally dreamed of Yanzhi; why did you have to teach him a lesson?

He was already so distressed; when you saw him, you should have picked him up, held him tightly in your arms, patted his back, fed him medicine, and coaxed him to sleep.

What lesson did you have to teach? Couldn’t you wait until he was better?

Couldn’t you hold him first before teaching him?

A perfectly good dream, a perfectly good opportunity, wasted by him just like that!

Xiao Cuan’s fury was overwhelming. He wanted to return to the dream, but found he couldn’t sleep anymore.

Outside the window, the morning light was dim.

Xiao Cuan simply rose from the couch and tidied up the things he had messed up.

He picked up the storybooks from the floor, retrieved the shoes from under the bed, and finally folded Yanzhi’s clothes one by one and put them back in the wardrobe.

He would come back here to sleep tomorrow; from today on, he would sleep here every day.

Besides, in case Yanzhi returned at some point, he would continue to live here.

So he had to tidy up.

As for the inner garment he had soiled, Xiao Cuan picked it up and took it to the hot spring pool.

He stepped into the pool, lowered his head, and carefully washed Yanzhi’s inner garment, just as he used to wash Yanzhi while holding him.

Xiao Cuan’s large, calloused hands grabbed the pure white garment, pressed it into the pool to soak it, and then lifted it to gently scrub.

He wanted to wash away the stains, but he didn’t want to wash away Yanzhi’s scent.

So he washed with great care. When he was almost finished, he picked it up to sniff it.

But that sniff nearly killed him with anger.

The smell of a dog! Another foul smell of a dog!

Yanzhi hadn’t left many clothes, yet he couldn’t control himself.

Now look; everything was ruined.

Thinking this, Xiao Cuan couldn’t bear to throw away the garment, so he could only pinch himself hard.

Just couldn’t control himself! Why not just castrate himself?!

After washing the clothes, he took them back to the Taiji Hall and hung them in the inner hall to dry.

Yanzhi was not there, and the floor heating wasn’t lit; in a while, the clothes would freeze.

Xiao Cuan hurriedly went out and ordered the palace gate to light the floor heating and charcoal braziers.

The inner garment hung on the rack, side-by-side with the Empress’s ceremonial robe that Yanzhi had never worn.

The hall gradually warmed up, but it wasn’t warm enough to dry the clothes immediately.

Xiao Cuan thought for a moment, then took down the wet clothes, folded them neatly, and finally—

Tucked them into his own bosom.

His build was much larger than Yanzhi’s; he couldn’t wear Yanzhi’s clothes—they would tear.

So he could only use this method, using his body heat to dry Yanzhi’s clothes.

Without any barrier, Xiao Cuan’s chest was pressed against Yanzhi’s inner garment. Finally, he put on an outer robe, walked out of the Taiji Hall, and summoned the palace attendants.

“Summon those ministers again.”

This time, he didn’t even need to mention names; the attendants knew which ministers he meant.

*

The gates of the Taiji Hall were wide open.

The seating order was the same as usual.

Xiao Cuan sat at the top, with several close ministers below.

But today, Xiao Cuan looked down at his chest, feeling a hint of secret pleasure in his heart.

Against his body was Yanzhi’s inner garment.

He ran hot, while Yanzhi was afraid of the cold; every winter, Yanzhi loved to cling to him for warmth.

Now, with Yanzhi’s inner garment, cold and wet, pressed against his chest, it didn’t make him feel warm or comfortable; instead, it made his heart beat faster, like a drum.

If a mountain forest caught fire, experienced people would soak quilts or clothes in water and cover the fire to extinguish the embers.

He was the same; his heart was full of fury and jealousy, nearly burning him to ashes.

He could only use this method to extinguish the fire and calm himself down.

Besides, this was the only way he could feel that Yanzhi was still there.

Under the influence of the garment, Xiao Cuan spoke coldly, telling his ministers what he had deduced the night before.

“Immediately send people to investigate the southern villages; strictly investigate villages where people with the surnames Yang and Liu gather.”

“Have the various prefectures and counties organize the household registers and recent housing contracts.”

“Also, investigate a person named ‘Chu Yu’.”

The ministers had long since ceased to be surprised by his orders. They didn’t know how the Emperor knew this information, and they didn’t dare to ask.

Anyway, there were troops stationed in the south, so it wouldn’t be hard to investigate; it was just a matter of sending out a few edicts.

The ministers bowed and replied in unison: “Yes, we obey Your Majesty’s orders.”

“And—”

Xiao Cuan raised his hand and pressed hard on the garment against his chest.

“Prepare a boat.”

The ministers thought they had misheard and unconsciously looked up: “Your Majesty?”

“Prepare a boat,” Xiao Cuan said seriously. “I am going to the south.”

“May I ask…” Lord Bian inquired, “is Your Majesty going to Huai Prefecture, An Prefecture, or…”

“I do not know yet,” Xiao Cuan interrupted him. “Just go anywhere; we’ll see once we get there.”

“But now there is heavy snow, and the rivers are frozen; it’s likely the boats will have difficulty…”

“Then change to horses!” Xiao Cuan said sternly. “Do I have to teach you such trivial matters?”

“Yes.”

Seeing his anger, the ministers knelt on the ground in fear.

Xiao Cuan pressed the inner garment in his bosom even more tightly, as if he were holding Yanzhi, struggling to control his erratic heartbeat.

Yanzhi had been in the south for nearly a month; he could no longer sit peacefully in the Daliang Palace.

No matter where he went, as long as he was in the south, as long as he was on the road, as long as he was looking for Yanzhi, his mind would not be in turmoil.

The soldiers under him had never seen Yanzhi; they didn’t know him, so they could never find him.

He had to go look for himself.

Seeing that he was silent, the ministers prepared to withdraw after receiving their orders.

But just as they were about to leave, Xiao Cuan spoke again—

“Post notices in all prefectures and counties, issue imperial edicts, and announce to the world—”

“Yanzhi is outstanding in appearance, outstanding in character, outstanding in learning, and outstanding in martial arts.”

“I have already appointed Yanzhi as the Empress!”