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35
By the time the group returned, their excitement spent, most of the day had passed. The sky was turning dark, and the mountain air had grown chilly.
After a day of hunting, drinking, and roasting meat, Duan Linzhou looked visibly worn out when he returned to the mansion. The medicine had already been prepared in advance, and Liu Guang brought it over. Having enjoyed a rare day of leisure, Duan Linzhou lost his enthusiasm at the sight of the medicine and grew listless, reluctant to drink it.
Mu Peixuan had seen Duan Linzhou down bitter medicine without so much as a change in expression many times before, but this was the first time he saw him looking so miserable, as if bearing a deep grudge. Something stirred in his heart, and he said, “Drink the medicine, and I’ll take you to soak in the hot springs to ease your muscles.”
Duan Linzhou let out a sigh and said, “Xiao Junwang, do you know what thing in this world one can never get used to, no matter how many hundreds or thousands of times it’s done?”
Mu Peixuan asked, “What is it?”
Duan Linzhou said, “Drinking medicine.” With that, he picked up the bowl like a warrior steeling himself to sever his own wrist, muttering to himself, “I’m only drinking this today for the sake of Xiao Junwang’s hot spring.”
Mu Peixuan chuckled and said, “I won’t let Boss Duan down.”
Standing to the side, Liu Guang pressed his lips together in a smile and said, “Does Your Highness know? There’s something else that my Young Master never tires of, no matter how many hundreds or thousands of times he does it.”
Mu Peixuan raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment, then said, “Making silver?”
Liu Guang let out a thoughtful “umm” and replied, “Close enough…”
“That’s way off,” Duan Linzhou downed the bowl of medicine in one gulp. Liu Guang handed him a handkerchief, and he wiped his lips as he said, “How can counting silver compare to making it?”
Mu Peixuan’s gaze lingered for a few moments on Duan Linzhou’s lips, damp from the medicine, before he commented, “So vulgar.”
Duan Linzhou let out a snort of laughter and said, “What’s so vulgar about counting silver?”
Seeing that Duan Linzhou was in an unusually good mood today and more talkative than usual, Liu Guang couldn’t help but chuckle as he added, “Your Highness may not know, but in the early years, our Young Master even had someone specially make him a golden abacus to hang at his waist. When he went out for business, it caught the eyes of mountain bandits, making them want to rob him but too afraid to try. All they could do was grit their teeth in secret.”
Duan Linzhou shot him a sideways glance and said, “You talk too much.”
Mu Peixuan found himself picturing Duan Linzhou strutting about town with a golden abacus hanging from his waist. The image amused him, and he looked at Duan Linzhou with curiosity. “Why don’t I see that golden abacus of yours anymore?”
Duan Linzhou, unusually flustered under his gaze, cleared his throat and said, “Haven’t used it in years. That was just… youthful recklessness, back when I didn’t know any better.”
Mu Peixuan felt an odd sense of regret in his heart.
This estate had been built precisely because of the hot spring pools. The pool was quite large, and as the two of them entered, they were immediately enveloped in swirling mist and rising steam, thick with humid warmth.
Many red plum trees had been planted along the edge of the pool. Perhaps due to the presence of the hot spring, the blossoms bloomed earlier than usual and in full splendor. Their petals unfurled gracefully, the vibrant colors strikingly beautiful, adding an extra touch of elegance to the garden adorned with lanterns of various hues.
Duan Linzhou looked around, his expression visibly brightening, and some of his fatigue seemed to melt away.
The servants in the garden had already withdrawn, leaving only Duan Linzhou and Mu Peixuan by the hot spring pool. Duan Linzhou turned his head and glanced at Mu Peixuan. Though they had already shared far more intimate moments, the simple act of undressing to soak in a hot spring somehow made his heart beat faster without reason.
Mu Peixuan didn’t move. He quietly watched as Duan Linzhou undressed, gradually revealing his slender, delicate frame before him. Duan Linzhou had a narrow waist and long legs, which made the curves of his hips appear especially full. The small hollow of his lower back stood out against his pale skin, drawing the eye.
Mu Peixuan didn’t even blink, his gaze fixed intently on the young man’s bare back.
Mu Peixuan’s gaze felt almost tangible. Even someone like Duan Linzhou couldn’t quite bear the weight of it. Only when he stepped into the water, letting his body sink beneath the surface, did that flush of embarrassment ease slightly. Turning back to look at the young man still standing on the shore, Duan Linzhou smiled and said, “Your Highness isn’t coming in?”
Mu Peixuan lowered his eyes, his gaze resting on Duan Linzhou’s pale neck and shoulders. He said nothing, but in full view of Duan Linzhou, he calmly reached up, undid his waist sash, took off his robes, and stepped into the water as well.
36
The hot spring water is hot, and the mist is steaming. There are only two people in the huge hot spring pool. It has a secretive, open, and comfortable feeling, but it is also mixed with perhaps ambiguity, just like the hot steam, which makes people feel hot all over.
Duan Linzhou and Mu Peixuan were separated by an arm’s length as they soaked in the pool. His eyes couldn’t help but wander to the young man’s chest, but the thing he had just seen appeared in front of him.
Mu Peixuan had an erection without knowing when. When he took off his robe, his erect lower body could not be hidden. Mu Peixuan did not seem to want to hide it either. He looked calm and let Duan Linzhou look at him. Duan Linzhou’s ears were hot, and he was amazed. It was not until he saw Mu Peixuan’s red ears that he realized something. His bad nature came to the fore again.
He looked around Mu Peixuan’s body. Mu Peixuan was young, with a body between that of a teenager and an adult, full of vigor and strength, which really attracted Duan Linzhou. He had been ill for three years, like a sick pine or cypress. He could only watch himself being drained of vitality by the poison bit by bit, becoming pale and thin.
Duan Linzhou’s gaze was too straightforward and explicit, revealing an admiration and love that he himself had not even noticed, which made Mu Peixuan’s face grow hotter and hotter, and the thing underneath grew harder and harder.
Duan Linzhou seemed to realize something. He raised his eyes and met the young man’s gaze. He immediately felt that he was really a shameless pervert. He coughed and said, “They say greed can drive people mad, but haven’t you heard? That Xiao Junwang who stripped down, tempting like a blossom in spring, can make people lose their minds too?”
Mu Peixuan suddenly said without thinking, “Duan Linzhou, are you so frivolous to everyone?”
Duan Linzhou was stunned and said with a smile, “It depends on who it is.”
Mu Peixuan stared at Duan Linzhou, and his mind flashed back to those romantic anecdotes of Duan Linzhou many years ago. Everyone knew that when Boss Duan of Ruizhou was young, he was the kind of man who “rode his horse up to a slanted bridge, with his red sleeves fluttering through the whole pavilion”. Although he was a Zhongyong, but he had a good appearance and was very knowledgeable and interesting. When he was happy, he spent a lot of silver, which made many Kunze abandon Tianqian to be with him. His romantic stories are still talked about with relish.
Mu Peixuan let out a cold hum and suddenly walked toward Duan Linzhou. His face was expressionless, but his gaze was intense and commanding, causing a chill to creep down the back of Duan Linzhou’s neck, the sensation almost painful.
On the night when the two of them had an intimate relationship after drinking, this bastard bit his neck many times. It was obvious that he was a Zhongyong and could not be marked, but the strong invasion of the Tianqian’s Xinxiang still made his legs tremble, and he almost fainted from the stimulation.
Duan Linzhou recalled the feeling, which made him feel daunted but also very excited. Duan Linzhou felt itchy inside, so he leaned over and kissed the corner of Mu Peixuan’s mouth, saying, “Are you unhappy?”
Mu Peixuan turned his face away and said calmly, “No.”
Duan Linzhou laughed and said, “It’s all just old, irrelevant matters, nothing more than a fleeting show, forgotten once it’s over. Look, who else do I have eyes for besides our Xiao Junwang? Who else can compare to our Highness?”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Mu Peixuan remarked. Hearing him speak those words so effortlessly, he felt even more uneasy. He stretched out his hand and pinched Duan Linzhou’s chin, saying, “If it’s just a show. Then how can this prince know that what’s going on between Boss Duan and this prince isn’t just a show as well?”
Duan Linzhou inhaled sharply and said, “If I’m just playing along, why would I risk my entire fortune by marrying you?”
“Merchants value profit. If I weren’t sincere, why would I make this unpromising deal?”
He enjoyed it and coaxed Mu Peixuan with a smile. Mu Peixuan looked at Duan Linzhou with a stern face.
Duan Linzhou sighed and said, “You have done it with me, but I have never done it with others. Don’t you know?”
Mu Peixuan’s expression calmed down a bit, but he remembered something and turned cold again. He asked, “What about Kunze?”
Duan Linzhou: “……”
“Unfair,” Duan Linzhou said. “This is really a huge injustice. I only wanted to make silver before, and I didn’t have the mind to really get into a romantic debt. It’s really just a show.”
Mu Peixuan didn’t say anything.
Duan Linzhou lowered his voice and said, “I was ill for three years afterwards, and I had no interest in this path.”
Mu Peixuan looked at Duan Linzhou and asked abruptly, “Why me?”
Mu Peixuan had asked this question on their wedding night, and Duan Linzhou said it was because he was Xiao Junwang of Marquis Annan Mansion.
Mu Peixuan didn’t believe it completely.
Nowadays, Marquis Annan Mansion is declining, no longer as glorious as it once was when it commanded the heavy troops of the southern border. With Duan Linzhou’s ability, even if he is dying, he can still make more comprehensive plans.
Duan Linzhou paused and smiled. “Of course, because you are Xiao Junwang of Marquis Annan Mansion.”
He said, “You are the most outstanding tiangian in the whole Ruizhou.”
Duan Linzhou blocked Mu Peixuan’s lips as he was about to speak again, reached into the hot spring and held his hard thing, muttering, “It’s already like this, and you still want to say those unnecessary words to me? It really ruins such a good night.”
“Don’t you want to kiss me?” Duan Linzhou said in a low voice, and his wet body pressed against him, bringing a bit of temptation.
Mu Peixuan’s adam apple moved, and he lowered his head and kissed Duan Linzhou’s neck.
37
Suddenly, a few petals swirled down and landed on Duan Linzhou’s fair and thin back and loose hair, like red plum blossoms in the snow, proud and frost-resistant flowers blooming in a swamp of lust, extremely gorgeous.
Mu Peixuan looked at him for a long time and couldn’t help but lean over and kiss him.
Duan Linzhou was already exhausted and vaguely felt something and called out softly: “…Your Highness?”
Mu Peixuan brushed away the flowers, held Duan Linzhou against his chest, and said, “Nothing, go to sleep.”
