BLPSG Chapter 89.2

“It stopped hurting long ago,” Wen Qingci restrained Xie Bufeng’s restless hand, reluctant to expose the scars on his arm. “My arm is scarred and unsightly.”

 

“Not unsightly,” Xie Bufeng stubbornly shook his head, looking into Wen Qingci’s eyes and saying, “Qingci has never had any association with the word ‘unsightly.'”

 

His tone was extremely serious, without the slightest hint of frivolity or flirtation.

 

But it was precisely this tone that caught Wen Qingci off guard.

 

Especially the two words “Qingci,” which felt like a feather carelessly brushing across his heart.

 

He wasn’t sure when Xie Bufeng had started calling him this way…

 

Wen Qingci applied slight force, withdrawing his hand: “Your Majesty, there should be distinction between sovereign and subject. You should call me…” Imperial Physician Wen instead.

 

However, Xie Bufeng’s response was even quicker than Wen Qingci’s.

 

Just as the words “distinction between sovereign and subject” left his mouth, Xie Bufeng very naturally added two more words: “beloved subject.”

 

His voice wasn’t loud, falling on Wen Qingci’s ears like a whisper.

 

Beloved subject?

 

This was a customary title used by rulers for their officials, nothing strange about it.

 

But coming from Xie Bufeng’s mouth at this moment, it carried an inexplicable intimacy.

 

In an instant, it took Wen Qingci back to the day when Xie Bufeng had said to him, “My beloved subject, you need not observe formalities.”

 

Wen Qingci: “…”

 

Even the most oblivious person would sense that Xie Bufeng was flirting with him.

 

If his tone had been slightly more frivolous, it might have been bearable, but Xie Bufeng’s expression was particularly serious, even solemn.

 

The collision of these two elements didn’t diminish the impact—it amplified it.

 

The surrounding air seemed to grow hot in that moment.

 

Wen Qingci instinctively wanted to flee from his side.

 

But just as he rose from the stool by the bed, before he could pick up his medicine box to leave, he heard footsteps suddenly coming from outside the hall.

 

“Your Majesty, King Chiye and King Ahe of the Northern Di (Běidí) request an audience—”

 

Although Xie Bufeng was still recovering, state affairs couldn’t be delayed.

 

Besides attending court and reviewing memorials, he still needed to meet people who required audience.

 

“Let them in,” Xie Bufeng said coolly.

 

Seeing this, Wen Qingci immediately picked up his medicine box, preparing to leave the side hall.

 

Unexpectedly, Xie Bufeng slowly raised his hand to stop him: “My beloved subject need not withdraw.”

 

Before Wen Qingci could react, Xie Bufeng gently encircled his waist and pulled him onto the bed.

 

And in the instant when the sensation of weightlessness hit, he lightly brushed his fingertips across Wen Qingci’s lips, stopping the exclamation that almost escaped.

 

Although the side hall had been converted from the Imperial Medical Bureau, the furniture and arrangements inside were of the highest quality.

 

The priceless huanghuali wood bed gleamed brilliantly under the lamplight.

 

The five-clawed coiled dragon on the bed constantly reminded one of its owner’s identity—the current Emperor.

 

This was a dragon bed, which by custom only the emperor could use.

 

The footsteps outside the hall grew louder as the two kings of the Northern Di were led by eunuchs to the entrance of the side hall.

 

Wen Qingci was startled by his action and lowered his voice: “Your Majesty, release me. This is too presumptuous.”

 

Had Xie Bufeng’s hand not been pressing on Wen Qingci’s waist, he would likely have fled already.

 

“Everyone in the Wei Dynasty knows that Imperial Physician Wen Qingci is my person,” Xie Bufeng also lowered his voice, whispering in Wen Qingci’s ear, “How is it presumptuous for my beloved subject to sit here?”

 

Wen Qingci still wanted to struggle.

 

But Xie Bufeng’s strength was beyond his ability to resist.

 

The jewel-laden beaded curtain made crackling sounds with Wen Qingci’s movements, completely disrupting his composure.

 

At this moment, King Chiye and King Ahe of the Northern Di had already entered the hall.

 

They were representatives of the Northern Di nobles who had submitted to the Wei Dynasty, coming to the capital for their routine audience with the Emperor.

 

As subjects, they were not permitted to raise their heads and look directly at the Emperor without permission.

 

Having already submitted to the Wei Dynasty, the two kings only heard the constant “crackling” sounds and did not look up to see that there were two people sitting on the dragon bed.

 

They bent forward with their hands on their chests, paying respects to Xie Bufeng.

 

Seeing King Chiye and King Ahe arrive, Wen Qingci immediately stopped struggling and even involuntarily held his breath, sitting rigidly in place, fearing discovery.

 

“Your subjects pay respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, long, long live—”

 

The Northern Di nobles, who had submitted to the Wei Dynasty not long ago, could already use the official language to pay respects to Xie Bufeng.

 

“You may rise.”

 

The hand of the emperor in black robes gently brushed across Wen Qingci’s waist.

 

Pulling the constantly dodging Wen Qingci, who was sitting on the edge of the bed almost about to fall off, a bit closer.

 

And whispering in his ear: “Beloved subject, move closer, be careful not to fall.”

 

Then he raised his eyes and coolly asked: “In the several prefectures of the Northern Di, is the grass lush this summer?” His tone instantly became extremely official, as if the person who had been whispering in Wen Qingci’s ear a second ago wasn’t him at all.

 

Xie Bufeng went straight to the point, and King Chiye and King Ahe dared not be negligent, immediately presenting their prepared reports.

 

Although their accents were somewhat heavy, Wen Qingci, forced to remain there, soon understood their meaning and for the first time learned exactly how Xie Bufeng controlled the Northern Di.

 

Previously, the Northern Di tribes had followed the grasslands, wandering aimlessly across the entire territory.

 

After conquering the Northern Di, Xie Bufeng had broken them down, dividing them into hundreds of prefectures and districts.

 

Each district was assigned a fixed population, not permitted to cross boundaries arbitrarily.

 

If any district encountered disaster or harm, the imperial court would be responsible for transporting fodder from other districts—this was the so-called “grass moves, people don’t.”

 

Over time, as activities and interactions between the various Northern Di districts weakened, they would not form a unified and powerful force as they had for thousands of years before.

 

King Chiye and King Ahe had come to Yongdu this time to report on the condition of grasslands in various regions and to await the court’s allocation.

 

After all, it was territory he had conquered himself.

 

Xie Bufeng understood every blade of grass and every tree in the Northern Di intimately.

 

He didn’t even need to look at a map before accurately planning routes for transporting fodder.

 

His deep voice echoed throughout the side hall.

 

Unhurried and measured, naturally carrying the dignified air of an emperor.

 

Through the gently swaying beaded curtain, Wen Qingci saw that even King Chiye and King Ahe looked at Xie Bufeng with undisguisable admiration.

 

Yet they also showed traces of fear during the pauses in Xie Bufeng’s speech.

 

It had to be admitted that although Xie Bufeng was unrestrained in private, he was extremely competent as a ruler.

 

He was an emperor with real power over the world.

 

However… these two kings probably never imagined that the Wei Dynasty’s ruler wasn’t as proper as they thought.

 

King Chiye was still saying: “Summer vegetables have already been dispatched from Chang Yuan and are expected to reach Moluo Prefecture in seven days.”

 

The moment the words “Chang Yuan” left his mouth, Xie Bufeng involuntarily tightened his hand on Wen Qingci’s waist.

 

The flesh around Wen Qingci’s waist was naturally sensitive; his body reflexively trembled with Xie Bufeng’s movement.

 

His elbow inadvertently hit the beaded curtain, causing another series of crackling sounds in the side hall.

 

The two men standing at the bottom of the steps involuntarily looked up.

 

Then they saw…

 

Behind the beaded curtain adorned with jewels and coral, there were actually two shadowy figures.

 

“!!!”

 

The two men involuntarily exchanged glances, each seeing shock and knowing intimacy in the other’s eyes.

 

—If they hadn’t seen wrong, sitting beside the emperor was a man.

 

Even in the far-off Northern Di, they had heard rumors of the Wei Emperor’s “cut sleeve” preferences.

 

Legend had it that his beloved had already passed away.

 

Could it be that the one up there was his male favorite?

 

While his companion was speaking, King Ahe couldn’t help raising his eyes to secretly look up.

 

As the beaded curtain gradually settled, King Ahe clearly saw a pale and slender figure sitting beside Xie Bufeng on the shared dragon bed.

 

He had light, cold features with a dot of cinnabar on his forehead, somewhat resembling the statues in the Wei Dynasty’s wall paintings and shrines.

 

Although he had long been convinced by Xie Bufeng’s superiority and genuinely accepted him as his ruler,

 

This did not mean he was willing to bow to a male favorite.

 

King Ahe thought contemptuously: “Just a male favorite, how did he end up sitting in that place? Even receiving my bow. When His Majesty grows tired of him, I’ll ask to take him back to the Northern Di!”

 

Xie Bufeng suddenly narrowed his eyes.

 

“Bang!”

 

A porcelain bowl suddenly flew out from behind the beaded curtain.

 

The thin porcelain wall became like a blade, cutting through a string of beads.

 

In an instant, jewels shattered on the ground, creating chaotic, discordant sounds as they scattered everywhere.

 

The bowl itself heavily struck King Ahe’s forehead, shattering into pieces.

 

“Ah—”

 

The porcelain edge cut through the blood vessel on his forehead, and in the next moment, King Ahe’s face was covered in blood.

 

“Is Our empress someone your eyes can casually look upon?” Xie Bufeng said this in the Northern Di language.

 

Em-empress?

 

King Ahe was stunned for a moment, ignoring the blood on his forehead, and immediately began knocking his head on the ground repeatedly.

 

At this moment, both his hands pressed on the ground were trembling.

 

Xie Bufeng’s words still carried a hint of amusement, but King Ahe, who had once been his opponent, knew that the more casual and smiling His Majesty’s tone was, the more dangerous it became.

 

King Ahe feared that Xie Bufeng’s next words would be an order to gouge out his eyes.

 

Within just a few seconds, a pool of blood appeared on the ground.

 

“What is he doing?” King Ahe’s actions startled Wen Qingci.

 

“Nothing,” Xie Bufeng didn’t want Wen Qingci to know what the other man had been thinking.

 

By this time, King Chiye had completed his report, and Xie Bufeng had made arrangements.

 

Seeing the pool of blood on the ground, he finally said with slight disgust in the Northern Di language: “You may withdraw. Our empress does not like this smell.”

 

“Yes, yes!”

 

King Ahe immediately rose and retreated along with King Chiye, even remembering to wipe the blood off the ground with his sleeve as he left.

 

Incense was burning in the side hall, and after a short while, the smell of blood was gone.

 

Wen Qingci finally breathed a sigh of relief.

 

At last, they had left.

 

He was just about to stand up and leave this place.

 

But then he heard Xie Bufeng turn to whisper in his ear: “The Northern Di’s midsummer is different from Yongdu’s; even at noon it carries a hint of coolness. When the summer rains are good, the fodder can grow as high as a person’s waist, and streams from melting snow on the mountains flow through the grasslands… Next year, how about I take my beloved subject to see the Northern lands?”

 

After speaking, Xie Bufeng finally couldn’t resist gently biting Wen Qingci’s earlobe once, his breathing suddenly becoming erratic: “We can also go back to Chang Yuan, back to the City Lord’s mansion.”

 

Chang Yuan, the City Lord’s mansion.

 

What happened there was still clearly etched in Wen Qingci’s mind.

 

After that confession, Xie Bufeng no longer concealed that he harbored certain improper thoughts about Wen Qingci.

 

Everything reminded Wen Qingci that he could no longer treat Xie Bufeng as a child.

 

He no longer needed anyone’s pity.

 

He was an adult, a dangerous adult with desires and fantasies.

 

Xie Bufeng, who had been on the battlefield, understood best how to conquer territory.

 

Though he didn’t know Wen Qingci’s thoughts upon returning to Yongdu, his actions were all meant to stimulate Wen Qingci to recognize his own feelings, even to test his boundaries.

 

The memory of Chang Yuan surged up once more.

 

Meanwhile, Xie Bufeng reluctantly released his earlobe.

 

Wen Qingci abruptly stood up, stepping back half a pace.

 

He turned sideways and said coldly: “How could Your Majesty do such things in such a place?”

 

Despite Wen Qingci’s effort to be serious, his words somehow carried a flavor of outward severity masking inner timidity.

 

His cheeks simultaneously flushed a light red.

 

Realizing his state was inappropriate, Wen Qingci immediately turned around, picked up his medicine box, and walked out of the hall.

 

Xie Bufeng clearly understood his meaning, yet deliberately misinterpreted: “Does my beloved subject feel this place isn’t formal enough?”

 

As he spoke, Xie Bufeng still maintained his cold expression, his voice as deep and calm as ever.

 

It was as if he were seriously discussing formal matters with Wen Qingci.

 

Wen Qingci, who had already walked outside the hall, paused in his steps.

 

He instinctively followed Xie Bufeng’s train of thought: Where would be considered formal enough?

 

After realizing what confused thoughts he had just been entertaining, Wen Qingci’s cheeks suddenly burned hot.

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