HXC Chapter8

Because of the matter at Ziyun Lou, Shen Yanqing went to the east wing that night.

 

Ji Zhen felt wronged and didn’t follow, but once he was under the covers, he found it hard to sleep alone.

 

He thought of Shen Yanqing’s indifferent words, “Suit yourself,” and couldn’t help but ask Ji An, who was trimming the candlewick, in a small voice, “Should I not have argued with them at Ziyun Lou?”

 

Ji An was devoted to protecting his young master. “Those people can’t say anything good. If you ask me, Young Master, you were too gentle with them.”

 

Ji Zhen murmured, “Only you are so good to me.”

 

Ji An comforted Ji Zhen for a few more moments before quietly returning to his room to rest.

 

The trimmed candlewick was short and would go out in a quarter of an hour. Usually, by this time, Ji Zhen would have already fallen asleep, but as soon as he touched the empty space beside him, he couldn’t get to sleep.

 

The bright silver moonlight shone through the window into the room. Ji Zhen reached out, and the pale light fell on his palm, but as soon as he made a fist, he couldn’t grasp anything. Shen Yanqing was like this sliver of moonlight; no matter how close he got, he seemed to be forever out of reach.

 

After the parade on the long street that day, Ji Zhen found out that Shen Yanqing would be attending a poetry gathering. He pleaded with his elder brother for an invitation, just to see Shen Yanqing again.

 

Ji Zhen actually didn’t enjoy attending these stuffy poetry gatherings. First of all, he had little talent for reciting poetry or composing couplets, and would rather spend that time admiring a lake. Secondly, he didn’t want to make a fool of himself at the banquet by being speechless.

 

As a bottom-tier student who failed his exams every year, he had only a handful of poems in his mind. But to catch a glimpse of Shen Yanqing’s elegant presence, he bit the bullet and took a seat at the banquet.

 

As one might imagine, Ji Zhen made a huge fool of himself.

 

He didn’t know if the person beating the drum was doing it on purpose, but several times, as soon as the red flower was passed to Ji Zhen’s hand, the drum would stop.

 

Ji Zhen couldn’t continue the poem or match the couplet, so he was forced to drink. One cup after another, his cheeks turned crimson, and everyone looked blurry to him.

 

Shen Yanqing was seated to his upper left and surely saw his embarrassing state. Ji Zhen was so mortified that he wished he could dig a hole and crawl to the bottom.

 

Thankfully, the poetry game didn’t last long.

 

Ji Zhen had drunk too much wine and felt tight-chested, so he hid behind a big tree to catch his breath. He vaguely heard someone calling Shen Yanqing and craned his neck to look.

 

He saw Shen Yanqing, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, surrounded by people, standing under the lush trees. His face was elegant and placid. He held a black chess piece between two slender fingers, looking as if he was from another world, like the bright moon in the sky or a celestial crane in the clouds. As a mere mortal, Ji Zhen could only look from afar and dared not get close, afraid of startling the immortal of the mortal world, the god among the dust.

 

Just watching Shen Yanqing from a distance was enough to make his spirit waver.

 

In less than a quarter of an hour, Shen Yanqing placed the piece amidst everyone’s anticipation. The moment the black piece landed, the years-old, unsolved, seemingly dead chess problem instantly cleared up. After a moment of silence, gasps of astonishment erupted from the surroundings.

 

“So that’s it, so that’s it!”

 

“Top Scholar Shen, your chess skills are excellent. We are ashamed of our inferiority.”

 

Shen Yanqing was neither proud nor arrogant. He simply smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. He turned and happened to see the stunned Ji Zhen and gave him a slight nod out of courtesy.

 

It was this one look that gave Ji Zhen the courage to feel a sense of blasphemy.

 

After the poetry gathering ended, he was hazily helped into a carriage. Before he could even sit down, he heard people outside discussing Old General Wang Meng’s intention to send a matchmaker to the Shen Mansion to propose a marriage.

 

That night, Ji Zhen had a dream.

 

In the dream, Shen Yanqing, who was dressed in wedding robes, walked slowly toward him, smiling as he placed a peony in Ji Zhen’s palm. When he woke up, all that was left was an infinite emptiness.

 

After only two meetings, Ji Zhen’s obsession was as deep as the sea, and he vowed to make his fleeting dream a reality.

 

He went so far as to go on a hunger strike, begging his father and elder brother to break off his engagement with the Jiang family and using the Ji family’s influence to force Shen Yanqing to marry him.

 

His elder brother and father couldn’t bear to see him suffer and agreed to his demands.

 

On the third day of his hunger strike, Ji Zhen finally got to see Shen Yanqing, who was reluctantly forced to visit him.

 

The feeling was unrequited. Shen Yanqing looked down at him from above and asked, “Why me?”

 

Ji Zhen looked into those peach blossom eyes that no longer held a smile. He knew that forcing the issue would only make Shen Yanqing detest him, but he still didn’t know how to stop.

 

The person he had been longing for was so close. He couldn’t help but reach out to grab Shen Yanqing’s robes. The moment his fingertips touched the soft fabric, Shen Yanqing took a step back, his eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and cold mockery.

 

Ji Zhen pulled his hand back in disappointment and lowered his head, stammering shyly, “The flower you gave me that day… I had a craftsman coat it with oil so it can last a hundred years without wilting…”

 

“What flower?”

 

Ji Zhen’s heart trembled as he looked at Shen Yanqing blankly.

 

Shen Yanqing’s brows were tightly knit, as if he had no memory of the event Ji Zhen was talking about at all.

 

It turned out that the meeting he treasured so much, Shen Yanqing had forgotten in the blink of an eye.

 

Seeing Ji Zhen speechless, Shen Yanqing said in a cold voice, “It has already come to this, and I have no interest in finding out when you started to have feelings for me. Your elder brother and father have repeatedly threatened me and my family, which is why I was reluctantly persuaded to come see you. Now that we have met, let’s make things clear.”

 

“I have never liked people who depend on their family to live. No matter how prestigious your family or how striking your looks, love is something that comes from the heart. Forcing someone will only backfire.”

 

Ji Zhen’s already pale face turned even whiter.

 

“While it’s not a done deal, don’t be so stubborn.”

 

How could Ji Zhen not recognize the truth in Shen Yanqing’s words? Yet, as Shen Yanqing had said, “Love comes from the heart.” Since his heart already belonged to Shen Yanqing, how could he possibly rip it out and cast his feelings aside?

 

He couldn’t bear to see Shen Yanqing marry someone else, have children, and grow old together.

 

So be it, let him be unyielding.

 

Ji Zhen was silent for a while, then raised his red eyes. “What if I insist on going my own way?”

 

Seeing that his persuasion was fruitless, Shen Yanqing’s expression turned as cold as frost as he threw four words at him: “Stubborn and unrepentant.”

 

After that, for the half-month leading up to the wedding, Ji Zhen did not see Shen Yanqing again, but he looked forward to their wedding day every single day.

 

During this time, something happened that left Ji Zhen terrified.

 

He ignored his elder brother’s objections and went out to personally buy a pair of dragon-and-phoenix bracelets. But when his carriage reached a secluded street, an arrow shot straight into his carriage.

 

The arrow whistled past Ji Zhen’s ear, the sound as loud as thunder.

 

Just an inch closer, and the sharp arrowhead would have pierced his head, killing him on the spot.

 

Whether it was an accident or done on purpose, he couldn’t tell, but on the eve of a wedding, nothing worried him more than mishaps. Ji Zhen didn’t dare breathe a word to his elder brother and warned Ji An to stay silent. Ji An was initially unwilling but couldn’t resist Ji Zhen’s repeated pleading, so he kept it a secret for him.

 

Ji Zhen was unharmed but was so frightened that he fell ill for two days, burning with fever and losing consciousness. His elder brother, Ji Jue, thought he had caught a cold and took care of him and stayed by his side day and night until he got better.

 

Less than three months after the wedding, Ji An let it slip while reporting to Ji Jue, and only then did the incident on the long street come to light.

 

Ji Jue was furious and gave Ji Zhen a good scolding. It took many days of Ji Zhen acting adorable and begging for forgiveness before his elder brother was willing to talk to him again.

 

Now, as Ji Zhen thought back, perhaps that long arrow was meant to remind him that blasphemy comes with a price. But since he was still alive and well, he figured even the heavens were taking pity on his infatuation.

 

The moonlight was covered by dark clouds. Ji Zhen tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Ignoring the possibility that Shen Yanqing would mock him, he flipped over and got out of bed.

 

Dressed only in his undergarments, he followed the faint light of the lanterns in the corridor to the east wing. He lifted his hand and gave a light push, and the door creaked as it cracked open.

 

Shen Yanqing had forgotten to lock it.

 

Ji Zhen was overjoyed. He slipped inside, closed the door, and tiptoed to the bed in the darkness. Without waiting for Shen Yanqing to tell him to leave, he lifted the covers and burrowed into the bed, wrapping his arms around the other party’s lean waist.

 

He had done this many times before, and his movements were as fluid as flowing water.

 

Shen Yanqing seemed to have anticipated his arrival, and his voice was flat. “You’re disturbing my sleep.”

 

Ji Zhen pressed close, unwilling to let go, his cheek brushing against Shen Yanqing’s neck. In a shy whisper, he murmured, “Shen Yanqing, I can’t sleep.”

 

The other party’s intentions were too obvious, but Shen Yanqing was unmoved. He even pushed away the hand that was moving around his waist. “But I am sleepy.”

 

Ji Zhen let out a disappointed “oh,” thought for a moment, and then whispered, “Then I’ll sleep with you.”

 

Shen Yanqing’s long eyelashes were half-lowered, meeting the eyes that shone like obsidian in the darkness. “How will you sleep with me?”

 

Ji Zhen was close enough to feel the softness of his lips. He suddenly leaned in, but Shen Yanqing was even faster. Ji Zhen only managed to kiss his chin, and in his disappointment, he changed to licking the prominent adam apple instead.

 

Shen Yanqing pursed his lips, then flipped Ji Zhen over, pinning him firmly to the bed.

 

“Loose behavior, no self-respect.”

 

Ji Zhen’s ear tips turned bright red with embarrassment. He lay on the bed, counting on his fingers, holding up eight for Shen Yanqing to see. He mumbled, “It’s been eight days…”

 

Shen Yanqing’s hand half-cupped Ji Zhen’s loose, long hair, his voice calm and unreadable. “Are you that lonely?”

 

Ji Zhen’s face was pressed against the quilt. Too ashamed to speak, he just stayed still, looking docile and ready to be taken.

 

Shen Yanqing continued, “A gentleman is moderate in his desires. Your impulsiveness defies the wisdom of the sages.”

 

Hearing Shen Yanqing call him “loose” and “impulsive” one after the other, each word a criticism, Ji Zhen replied in shame and anger, “I’m not a gentleman.”

 

“Then what are you?”

 

Ji Zhen fumed and struggled to rise. “Whatever you say I am, that’s what I am.”

 

Shen Yanqing’s eyes narrowed slightly. He held him down firmly and countered, “Whatever I say you are?”

 

Ji Zhen pouted and didn’t answer.

 

Shen Yanqing chuckled almost inaudibly and tightened his grip on Ji Zhen’s black hair. Three very unpleasant words were about to spill from his lips when he suddenly realized that he had been unconsciously led astray by Ji Zhen, and his gaze darkened.

 

A gentleman knows what to say and what not to say, yet Ji Zhen always had a knack for shattering the restraint and reason Shen Yanqing prided himself on.

 

Ji Zhen waited for Shen Yanqing to speak, but when he remained silent, Ji Zhen was about to turn his head, only for his trousers to be yanked down.

 

Shen Yanqing’s fingers were long, fair, and slightly cold. From years of holding the brush, the pads of his fingers had a thin layer of calluses, and his joints were nimble.

 

A soft whimper came from Ji Zhen’s throat, like a cat in heat, as his curled toes slowly became claw-like…

 

Shen Yanqing didn’t even need to get down to business to make Ji Zhen collapse in surrender again and again.

 

After just two times, Ji Zhen was satiated, he became a puddle of soft cloudiness. He whimpered with teary eyes, begging Shen Yanqing to stop.

 

In the dim light, Shen Yanqing’s face was shadowed, his lips pressed tight, a thousand emotions concealed in the darkness.

 

He wiped his wet hands clean, and as he lay down, the dazed Ji Zhen instinctively burrowed into his arms.

 

While Shen Yanqing closed his eyes, waiting for the wild urges in his body to subside, Ji Zhen had already fallen asleep peacefully.

 

Shen Yanqing gazed at the beautiful sight in the moonlight. After a moment, his lips moved soundlessly. In the end, he revealed the three foul words he couldn’t say aloud in front of the sleeping Ji Zhen.

 

“You little slut.”

 

The author has something to say:

Lord Shen (seriously): This is just a bit of fun between a husband and wife. I don’t mean to actually insult my wife.

P.S.: Many people will indeed like Zhen Zhen, but no matter how many love triangles there are, they are all just building blocks for Lord Shen’s vinegar factory. This story is a firm 1v1. Don’t invest in any other stocks. The only Gong is Lord Shen, and Zhen Zhen only loves Lord Shen.