Chapter 21#

Kill That Emperor (21)#

As the year drew to a close, the weather grew colder and colder, and on this day, it even began to hail tiny ice pellets.

With the cold weather, sleeping on the footstool was no longer comfortable, after all, the footstool wasn’t as warm as the bed.

Shen Jue stood by the bed, and after helping Murong Xiu make the bed, he prepared to help Murong Xiu take off his outer robe. Murong Xiu was taller than Shen Jue, so when taking off his clothes, he needed to spread his arms. Murong Xiu tilted his chin up to avoid being brushed by the top of Shen Jue’s head.

Once before, Murong Xiu had been distracted. When Shen Jue’s hair brushed against his chin, he only felt a tickling sensation, and Shen Jue had already knelt down to confess his fault.

Tonight, Murong Xiu lowered his eyes to look at Shen Jue, then glanced at the icy cold footstool. A subtle movement flickered beneath his long lashes, and then he said calmly, “Is it cold sleeping on the footstool?”

Shen Jue folded Murong Xiu’s belt and placed it on the red lacquer tray beside them, replying in a low voice, “Not cold.”

Murong Xiu coughed once. “I find it a bit chilly at night.”

Shen Jue looked up at Murong Xiu. “Then this servant will prepare two extra hot water bottles for Your Majesty tonight. Placed by your feet, it should be better.”

Murong Xiu habitually furrowed his brow at the other’s feigned ignorance. He looked at Shen Jue’s face and decided to stop beating around the bush. “You will sleep with me tonight. If you catch a cold sleeping on that footstool, who will serve me in the future?” Seeing that Shen Jue was about to speak, he cut him off preemptively. “No one else serves me as well as you do. Alright, you don’t need to say any more.”

Shen Jue pursed his lips in reluctance. “But this goes against propriety, doesn’t it? What eunuch has ever shared a bed with the emperor?”

“Who says there hasn’t been? Emperor Chongwen was born with cold feet, and his chief eunuch often warmed his feet for him at night.” Murong Xiu lifted his chin. “You sleep on the inside tonight.”

Shen Jue couldn’t argue with Murong Xiu, so he had to obey. However, being told specifically to sleep on the inside made Shen Jue feel a bit strange. But Murong Xiu’s thinking was simple: last time he slept with Shen Jue, Shen Jue had clung tightly to him, and he hadn’t dared to push him away for fear of waking him up or knocking him off the bed. By making Shen Jue sleep on the inside, he wouldn’t have to worry about pushing him off the bed.

Murong Xiu was prepared for the other to cling to him again, but tonight Shen Jue was far too well-behaved. He didn’t cling at all; in fact, his body barely moved. Murong Xiu abruptly opened his eyes and looked displeasedly at the person beside him, but Shen Jue was sleeping soundly, completely unaware that someone was watching him. It had to be said that sleeping on Murong Xiu’s dragon bed was incredibly comfortable, and Shen Jue, who was especially tired today, had fallen asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Back when he was an immortal, Shen Jue wasn’t accustomed to sharing a bed with others. However, after going through a thousand years of reincarnation, he had long developed the habit of completely ignoring the person beside him on the bed.

Of course, Murong Xiu’s wait was destined to be in vain. Last time Shen Jue clung to him, it was because Shen Jue hadn’t actually been sleeping. The pain from his wounds had kept him from falling asleep, so he had simply pretended to get close to Murong Xiu. This time, Shen Jue was actually asleep, so why would he still think of getting close to Murong Xiu?

Murong Xiu propped himself up slightly. Because of the winter cold, Shen Jue had buried half his face in the blanket while sleeping, leaving only his brows and eyes exposed. Shen Jue’s eyebrows weren’t thick enough, and although his lashes were long, they weren’t dense. Murong Xiu stared at Shen Jue’s face, thinking to himself that Shen Jue’s lack of hair growth might have something to do with his castration.

Thinking of this, Murong Xiu gently lifted the blanket and looked at the lower half of Shen Jue’s face.

Shen Jue’s chin was completely smooth, without even a trace of stubble.

Murong Xiu couldn’t help but touch his own chin. By midnight, the stubble there had already started to emerge. He looked back at Shen Jue’s face and gently reached out to touch the other’s chin. It was indeed the same as the feeling of his cheek—smooth beyond compare.

Murong Xiu was naturally cold-bodied, and as his icy fingertips pressed against the other’s chin, it felt as though they were warmed by the other’s warm face.

However, Shen Jue was startled by the cold. He frowned uncomfortably and burrowed deeper into the blanket, even moving his face as if trying to shake off the cold hand. Murong Xiu was amused by this series of movements. He was just smiling slightly when he heard Shen Jue mumble indistinctly—

“Qingbao, stop messing around.”

Those few words were slurred and unclear, but Murong Xiu still heard them clearly.

His gaze suddenly turned icy cold, and the hand resting on Shen Jue’s chin even exerted a bit of force. This force directly jolted Shen Jue awake.

Shen Jue seemed startled. He blinked his eyes open groggily and, when he saw Murong Xiu propped up slightly looking at him, was still a bit slow to react. He slowly rubbed his eyes before softly addressing Murong Xiu, “Your Majesty?”

Murong Xiu stared fixedly at Shen Jue, his gaze as cold as winter snow. Seeing Murong Xiu’s expression, the drowsiness on Shen Jue’s face gradually faded. He immediately scrambled up and knelt directly on the bed, lowering his head. “Your Majesty, forgive me.”

“Oh? What crime have you committed?” Murong Xiu let out a light laugh, but his voice was extremely cold, and he rarely spoke to Shen Jue like this.

Shen Jue was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “This servant does not know. Has this servant offended Your Majesty?”

“Yes, do you know what you just did?” Murong Xiu leaned forward slightly, closing in on Shen Jue. Shen Jue was kneeling while Murong Xiu was half-sitting, so as he drew closer, his cheek came very near the other’s lowered head; indeed, his breath could even blow onto the other’s face.

Because of Murong Xiu’s proximity, Shen Jue felt a desire to move back a little, but Murong Xiu had already reached out and pinched his chin, preventing him from retreating.

“You were bold enough just now to call my personal name. Is the name ‘Axiu’ something you are allowed to call?” Murong Xiu said coldly, lying through his teeth. If Shen Jue hadn’t woken up early, he would almost have believed it.

Shen Jue opened his mouth, pretending to be embarrassed, and stammered, “This servant… this servant…”

Murong Xiu rubbed the other’s chin with his fingertip. Seeing Shen Jue stammering and unable to speak, he twitched the corner of his mouth. “What about you? You called my name. Do you think I should punish you or not?”

After saying this, he stared intently at the young man’s face. Seeing the other’s face alternating between pale and flushed, and his eyes filled with grievance, he narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly, “If you want me to not punish you, that’s not impossible. Unless…” He deliberately left the second half of the sentence unsaid, waiting until the other looked up at him before Murong Xiu continued slowly, “Unless you warm my feet for me.”

Mm?

Shen Jue had thought Murong Xiu would propose some other excessive reason, like not being allowed to get too close to Feng Qingbao. Instead, the request was simply to warm his feet.

As Murong Xiu’s personal eunuch, Shen Jue could easily be ordered to do such a thing; there was no need to tie it to punishment.

Hearing Murong Xiu’s words, Shen Jue moved to embrace Murong Xiu’s feet, but unexpectedly, Murong Xiu dodged.

“Not now. Tomorrow, when I am reviewing memorials, you will come and warm my feet.”

Shen Jue was taken aback for a moment, but could only nod.

The next day, Shen Jue looked at Murong Xiu, and for the first time, reluctance appeared on his face.

Murong Xiu actually wanted him to crawl under the desk and use his stomach to warm Murong Xiu’s feet.

Shen Jue had lived for so many years and had never heard of such a request. Moreover, this very request was something the Regent King had made to Murong Xiu in previous lifetimes. How had it now fallen on his head?

Recalling previous lifetimes, the Regent King had wanted Murong Xiu to warm his feet. Murong Xiu, disheveled and hiding under the desk, his face flushed with spring, was even gasping for breath from the Regent King’s two feet fiddling with him.

…

Murong Xiu sat on the dragon throne, his face stern as he looked at Shen Jue. “You’re unwilling? Then go receive some other punishment. I can see that your mind is wandering now; you probably don’t want to serve in the imperial presence any longer. Go tell Liang Rong right now. Before that, call Feng Qingbao in here.” He suddenly smiled, his beautiful eyes curving. “Feng Qingbao’s looks are better; he would surely serve me better than you.”

With things having come to this point, no matter how unwilling Shen Jue was, he had to comply.

He pursed his lips and crawled under the desk, then couldn’t help but glare at Murong Xiu’s pair of feet before reaching out to remove the other’s boots.

Shen Jue had only intended to take off the shoes, but Murong Xiu moved his feet and said calmly, “Remove the socks too.”

“…Yes.” Shen Jue had no choice but to remove Murong Xiu’s snow-white long socks. As the master of the realm, Murong Xiu’s feet were extremely beautiful; indeed, they were hard to look away from. But Shen Jue cast a disdainful glance at them and resignedly began to untie his own belt.

He loosened his belt, slightly parted his clothes, and then placed Murong Xiu’s feet inside his garments.

Murong Xiu’s feet were icy cold. When they pressed against his belly, the cold made Shen Jue’s body tremble slightly. He gritted his teeth and straightened his clothes, gently cradling the other’s feet, warming them in this manner.

Feeling the warmth under his feet, Murong Xiu couldn’t help but curl his lips. Not long after, Feng Qingbao’s voice sounded from outside the hall.

“Your Majesty, this servant has brought the dragon bone soup.”

Feng Qingbao, standing outside the hall, was actually a bit puzzled. Usually, it wasn’t his duty to deliver soup, but today Liang Rong had specifically found him, saying that he lazed around all day and specially assigned him to bring soup to the imperial presence. Normally, delivering something to the emperor was a good errand, yet Liang Rong had taken the initiative to send him.

“Enter.”

Hearing the voice from inside, Feng Qingbao quickly composed his expression and carefully carried the soup into the hall.

Once inside, Feng Qingbao didn’t dare to look up casually. Ever since Murong Xiu’s face had been ruined, his temper had become strange, and Feng Qingbao was now increasingly afraid of him. He was about to place the soup on the table when he heard Murong Xiu say,

“Put it on my right hand side.”

“Yes.” Receiving the order, Feng Qingbao had no choice but to carry the soup to Murong Xiu’s right. Just as he was about to set it down, his eyes caught a glimpse of a pair of dragon boots on the floor and a revealed corner of ink-green clothing.

That corner of clothing was identical to the one he was wearing.

There was someone under the desk.

Feng Qingbao’s mind tensed. He quickly set down the soup, but then he saw Murong Xiu’s legs move, and the corner of the clothing seemed to move as well.

“What are you looking at?”

Feng Qingbao suddenly heard Murong Xiu’s voice in his ear. Startled, his body trembled. Forgetting all caution, he stupidly looked up at Murong Xiu. He saw Murong Xiu with a slight smile on his lips and a gentle expression in his eyes.

Although the other’s demeanor was gentle, like a warm spring breeze, Feng Qingbao inexplicably felt a chill.

Sure enough, Murong Xiu’s next words were—

“If you use those filthy eyes of yours to look at things you shouldn’t again, I’ll have Liang Rong gouge out your eyes.”