Shen Ling lay in bed, drowsy and on the verge of sleep, too lazy to move even a finger.
He buried his head against Li Sui’s chest like an ostrich. The man smelled wonderful, a faint fragrance that lingered without end. Shen Ling had no idea what incense he used. It was clearly high-end, like an orchid blooming alone in a secluded valley, or a deep spring. He could almost hear the white noise of rain beside his ear.
Patter, patter—
Shen Ling’s head drooped and he fell asleep, as though he’d stopped breathing. The flush still lingered on his face, and a few tears clung to his lashes. He was all damp and pale, limp as a heap of mud.
Li Sui lifted that face from his chest and patted it. There was no response, only steady breathing.
It looked like he really was exhausted.
Thick lashes, rosy lips, utterly defenseless.
“Flirt.” Li Sui pinched Shen Ling’s cheek, his eyes roiling with indescribable thoughts. “Reckless.”
In the end, he held back and didn’t pinch him awake. Instead, he drew the limp youth into his arms again and murmured, “Debauched.”
Steady breaths sounded beside his ear. Unaccustomed to having someone so close, he nudged Shen Ling’s head a little to the side. A moment later, he closed his eyes.
He was simply too tired.
But the restless heat he’d been suppressing for half a month seemed to have vanished with today’s indulgence. Li Sui closed his eyes and slept better than he had in half a month.
He dreamed nothing that night.
＊
Shen Ling was woken by the commotion and the pounding on the door.
“What’s all that racket? Can’t you let people sleep?” He instinctively sprang up from the bed, but the moment he straightened his back, he felt as if he’d been beaten black and blue. Every muscle in his body throbbed with pain. He sucked in a sharp breath and collapsed again.
“Ahhh! It hurts, it hurts!” Shen Ling wriggled beneath the covers. His hand reached out and touched Li Sui’s arm. Remembering last night, he stiffened all over and immediately didn’t dare move.
At the same time, someone kept hammering on the door, which had somehow been wedged shut with a large armchair. A sharp, spiteful old matron’s voice rang out from the other side. “What fox spirit has come here, daring to defile the Imperial Harem? Did Her Majesty the Empress Dowager show you mercy, and you take that as permission to get above yourself? You little slut, you’ve even dared to climb into someone’s bed!”
Through the cracks, Shen Ling could see a crowd gathered outside. He hurriedly burrowed under the covers and scrambled to find his clothes. He’d found them cumbersome when taking them off yesterday and had tossed them all over the floor. Now, all he had was a sheet wrapped around him.
And he had to wrap up two people.
Li Sui looked at the covers that had been dragged away from him and yanked them back, displeased. “Why are you wrapping yourself up?”
Shen Ling wrapped himself up like a silkworm, panicking like a headless fly. Instinctively, he wanted to leap out the window and escape. “This is bad! They’re here to catch me!”
“Why run? Do you think we’re sneaking around behind someone’s back?” The emperor swept out an arm and pulled Shen Ling back into his embrace. “What’s wrong with Zhen favoring Zhen’s own consort? Who can stop Zhen??”
Shen Ling’s face pressed against Li Sui’s chest, and only then did the realization dawn on him.
Right. He was the Emperor’s openly acknowledged male favorite, whom the Emperor had personally brought back from Prince Jing’s residence. If he wasn’t making love with the Emperor, what was he supposed to do—sit around chatting about everything under the sun?
At that thought, he relaxed completely, turned, and flopped into Li Sui’s arms. Clutching the Emperor around the neck, he simpered like a little fox spirit. “Wow, Your Majesty is amazing! Tingting likes Your Majesty so much!”
“Tingting?” Li Sui raised an eyebrow. “Your pet name? It’s rather cute.”
When the matrons burst through the door, they found the room in utter disarray. Two figures could be seen beneath the drooping bed curtains. Someone summoned the courage to lift them, only to see a flushed young man sprawled in the Emperor’s arms, tracing circles on his chest with one finger. He looked just like a little fox who’d eaten his fill.
“How could this be…” The matron couldn’t believe it. How had the few palace maids assigned here last night turned into a man?
“Your Majesty…” Shen Ling drew out his words. “I’m so scared!”
Li Sui stroked Shen Ling’s long hair, twirling the slightly curled ends. He gave a lazy hum. “Disturbing people’s sleep—those from the Empress Dowager’s palace are getting more and more unruly.”
“Meng Fan!”
“Here!” Outside, a tall guard entered with his sword in hand.
The Emperor pointed at the matron, whose face had gone white, and said casually, “That clueless thing. Beat her to death.”
Shen Ling met the old woman’s clouded, terrified gaze. His whole body shuddered, and goosebumps crawled all over his back. He felt cold, just as he had the day they first met.
The old matron was dragged away. Everyone else fell silent, afraid to make a sound.
Li Sui lowered his eyes again, winding Shen Ling’s curled hair around his fingers. “As for you, you’ve earned your reward for attending Zhen. I’ll grant you one wish. What do you want?”
At that moment, Shen Ling’s mind raced. Should he ask for an official post for Shen Mei, have the Emperor investigate the old Shen family case, or ask him to release the Prince Jing’s heir from the Imperial Ancestral Shrine? Or should he ask to become the Emperor’s favorite? He felt as if he were walking a tightrope.
In the end, his stomach growled.
Completely deflated, he flopped against Li Sui’s chest and said weakly, “Your Majesty, reward me with a meal. Something tasty and plentiful. And, of course, it’d be best if you let me take a bath first…”
Li Sui: “…”
He rubbed Shen Ling’s head as if petting a little animal. “You certainly know how to behave.”
As Shen Ling wished, he was taken to the Emperor’s Bedchamber, where he bathed, ate, and slept soundly. Then he slept on into the night, when the Emperor shook him awake again.
The Dragon Bed was much more comfortable than that little side chamber in the Empress Dowager’s palace. With all that extra space, he could roll around to his heart’s content.
Shen Ling drifted through four muddled days. The Emperor stopped attending court and seeing his ministers, ignoring all his official duties and lavishing his attentions on Shen Ling in the bedchamber.
What a foolish ruler! What a foolish ruler!
Lying limp on the bed, Shen Ling wondered hazily: by now, his mission should be a complete success, right?
＊
The emperor kept the memorial concerning the political marriage under wraps for seven days. During that time, the court and palace were in an uproar. For the first three days, the arguments were so heated that the spittle nearly drowned everyone
On the fourth day, the Emperor attended the morning court and met with the Empress Dowager; after that, he began to skip court sessions.
Word was that he had unexpectedly taken a new favorite, whom he kept in his Bedchamber. They were inseparable, wrapped up in each other day and night. All sorts of vulgar talk came from inside, enough to make the palace maids blush. That wicked creature clung to the Emperor and wouldn’t let him leave.
The Emperor seemed bewitched by a fox spirit. Indeed, the nights of spring were short and the sun rose high—from then on, the Emperor no longer attended morning court.
Chancellor He and the others knelt outside the palace gate under the blazing sun, begging the Emperor to come to his senses and put the people of the realm first. Meanwhile, the Emperor indulged himself in the Imperial Harem. Such conduct was truly debauched and wanton, inviting nothing but scorn.
Far away, the Prince Jing’s heir was kneeling and reciting scripture at the Imperial Ancestral Shrine. When he heard the news, he was so pleased that he summoned Shen Mei specifically to praise him.
“Your younger brother really was hiding his light under a bushel. He’s managed to bewitch that madman Li Sui to this extent.”
Shen Mei lowered his eyes and rubbed his hands together, smiling obsequiously. “Not at all, not at all. It’s all for Prince Jing’s great cause. Naturally, my younger brother has to give it his all!”
“It still isn’t enough.” The Prince Jing’s heir’s gaze was dark as he said ominously, “It’s not outrageous enough. I want Li Sui’s reputation in tatters. I want him remembered with infamy for generations!”
Shen Mei’s mouth twitched. He asked cautiously, “My lord, do you mean we should follow the example of Baosi and Daji?”
The Prince Jing’s heir patted Shen Mei on the shoulder. “You’ve done well this time, but not well enough. We need to make Li Sui lose his mind and commit a grave enough mistake to earn the scorn of everyone under heaven. Once he’s lost the people’s support, Father and I will make a comeback. Then our great cause will be within easy reach!”
Shen Mei bowed repeatedly in admiration. “My lord is wise! A beauty trap is impossible to guard against! It’s just that…”
The Prince Jing’s heir looked at him with displeasure. “Just what?”
Shen Mei looked up and rubbed his fingertips together. “It’s just that the silver you allocated last time has all been spent. If my younger brother is to go further, we’ll need to put in more money. After all, there are so many beauties in the Imperial Harem—the Ruan family, the Zhuang family, the Li family, the Wang family… To compete for favor, we need to win over the palace attendants and smooth things over with people inside and outside the palace. The expense is truly astonishing.”
The Prince Jing’s heir hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and agreed. “Then I’ll increase your daily allowance by fifty percent. You must make sure your brother completely bewitches Li Sui and has him making mistake after mistake!”
Shen Mei hurriedly knelt to give thanks. “Rest assured, My lord. I guarantee I’ll get the job done!”
But just after Shen Mei left the Imperial Ancestral Shrine, a guard from the prince’s residence came rushing over in a stumbling run. He flung open the door, his voice hoarse—
“Report to the Young Lord! Urgent military dispatch from the Northern Frontier, by eight-hundred-li express!”
“Seven days ago, the Northern Frontier army split into two forces. Commander Zhuang personally led the troops out to fight and engaged the barbarians in a desperate battle outside Yunyan Pass. Senior General Zhuang took the Qishan route and attacked the barbarians from behind, catching them completely off guard. They have now driven the barbarians out of the northern frontier and are advancing straight on Longcheng!”
“A great victory!”
Shen Mei stopped in his tracks. He glanced back at the Prince Jing’s heir and saw his face contort with unwillingness and resentment, before all of it turned into a single remark—
“Damn it. Li Sui really is lucky.”
