GSY Chapter86

The next day, Cen Yelan returned to the General’s Mansion.

 

The General’s Mansion is the Cen family’s residence in the capital, it’s a century-old house. The Cen family has guarded the northern border for generations, and the mansion has been without an owner for many years, leaving only a few loyal servants to take care of it.

 

Yuan Zheng had come here a few times when he was young to look for Cen Yelan. Later, when he left the capital, Yuan Zheng was angry for a while. In fact, he also came here secretly a few times later, but he was young at that time and the mansion was empty. He was bored and never came again. When Yuan Zheng talked about this past, he frowned and felt a little aggrieved.

 

He has been favored since he was young, and few people dare to offend him. However, there was only one person, Cen Yelan, who repeatedly frustrated him. He was small at that time, and he had to look up to talk to Cen Yelan, but he still couldn’t see clearly, so he simply pulled him and asked Cen Yelan to squat down.

 

Yuan Zheng wanted to save face, so he never asked anyone for help. He raised his chin and said proudly and willfully, “You can’t leave. Stay in the capital obediently and be my study partner.”

 

Cen Yelan was still young, with a sharp edge that could not be concealed, and his sharpness had not yet been polished. He looked down on such a half-grown child and directly said, “I won’t stay.”

 

Yuan Zheng was unhappy and said, “You don’t know what’s good for you. Do you know how many people want to be my study partner? The northern border is remote and cold, what good is there? If you want wealth and glory, I will give it to you.”

 

Cen Yelan sneered, stood up, and said condescendingly, “Thank Your Highness for his kindness. We are not on the same page, Cen Yelan appreciates it.”

 

After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave. Yuan Zheng grabbed his sleeve anxiously. “Cen Yelan!”

 

Yuan Zheng was unwilling to give in and said, “Tell me what you want, and I can give you whatever you want!”

 

Cen Yelan lowered his eyes, looked at the child’s fingers that were tightly grasping his sleeve, and said softly, “If Your Highness wants a playmate, there are so many children from noble families in the capital for you to choose from. I want to go back to the North with my adoptive father. The North is where I should go.”

 

He slowly pulled back his sleeves, raised his hands, and bowed, saying, “Take care, Your Highness.”

 

Yuan Zheng looked at his back and angrily kicked the tall crabapple tree beside him. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. The lush branches and leaves seemed to be laughing at him, “You don’t know what’s good for you. Do you think I care about you?”

 

“I don’t care!”

 

“Go away, go back to the North and suffer!”

 

Yuan Zheng stopped and looked at the slanting crabapple branches. It was blooming, the flowers were in full bloom, as beautiful as the sunset. He raised his eyes, and Cen Yelan turned around and looked at him. More than ten years had passed, and the childish grievances and unwillingness at the beginning seemed to have been erased by time.

 

After many twists and turns, the person in front of him was still the same.

 

Yuan Zheng said, “I came here twice after you left, but I was embarrassed to let others know, so I had to get rid of everyone around me and come here by myself. Once I even ran into a human trafficker, which scared my Emperor Father and uncle.”

 

Cen Yelan opened his eyes slightly. “What happened next?”

 

Yuan Zheng snorted and laughed, “I was caught by accident because I was not careful at that time. What can a few low-class human traffickers do to me?”

 

“After that incident, my uncle specially found someone to teach me martial arts, and my Emperor Father also refused to let me leave the palace.”

 

Cen Yelan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He looked at Yuan Zheng, sighed softly, and said, “Your Majesty is of noble status, you should be careful in everything.” He hinted at something, Yuan Zheng raised his eyebrows, and said, “This is General Cen’s mansion, what ruffian dares to be so presumptuous in front of General Cen, huh?”

 

Cen Yelan thought, Isn’t the most unbridled person in the world right in front of me? He thought so, but when he looked at Yuan Zheng, he remembered what Yuan Zheng looked like when he was young. It had been so long, and he thought he had forgotten about his youth, but unexpectedly, it was still as clear as yesterday.

 

He is aloof and cold, with few close friends and relatives around him.

 

Only Yuan Zheng keeps breaking into his life again and again.

 

A gust of wind blew by, and a few crabapple petals swirled and fell. Yuan Zheng reached out and plucked the fallen petals off Cen Yelan’s shoulder, then touched the small mole under his eye and said, “In fact, I later thought that if I had insisted on asking my Emperor Father to keep you in the capital, I wouldn’t have wasted so many years.”

 

Cen Yelan was silent for a moment and said, “Things in the world are unpredictable, and they have their own way. Now—now is good.”

 

Yuan Zheng’s fingertips trembled, and he looked at Cen Yelan and whispered, “Do you really think it’s good?”

 

Cen Yelan raised his eyes, and their eyes met. Yuan Zheng couldn’t wait any longer and asked more directly, pressing his forehead against Cen Yelan’s, “Ah Lan, are you happy and satisfied being with me?”

 

They were close to each other, and breathing closely, Yuan Zheng held Cen Yelan’s neck in his palm, urging him silently. Cen Yelan felt his heart pounding and his face flushed. He was a reserved person, but Yuan Zheng wanted him to open his lungs and take out his naked heart.

 

Cen Yelan’s adam apple moved, his throat was dry, and the words rolled around on his tongue a few times, but he couldn’t get them out. His heart was beating faster and faster, and his eyelashes were trembling with panic, feeling immature and ashamed. After a long time, Cen Yelan hastily kissed Yuan Zheng’s forehead. He took a step back and said vaguely, “I’m, I’m tired.”

 

Yuan Zheng raised his hand and touched his forehead. The kiss was as light as a dragonfly touching the water, like a dream, but it made Yuan Zheng infatuated and love it very much. He couldn’t hide the smile on his face, nor did he want to hide it. His eyes curved, and he stared straight at Cen Yelan, which made Cen Yelan more embarrassed and a little regretful.

 

Cen Yelan turned away and said, “Don’t look at me.”

 

“Oh.” Yuan Zheng responded, but he didn’t look away. He smiled and called him stickily, “Ah Lan—”

 

Cen Yelan couldn’t stand Yuan Zheng’s clinging. His ears turned red, and his heart was in a panic. He simply turned around and left. However, Yuan Zheng followed him and grabbed Cen Yelan’s hand, smiling and saying, “Don’t leave so hastily. What if you fall?”

 

Cen Yelan’s palms were sweating, and he twitched, but he was held tighter. Cen Yelan pursed his lips and whispered, “Let go first, if you won’t hold me, then I won’t fall.”

 

Yuan Zheng said confidently, “No, if you fall, I will hold you.”

 

Cen Yelan: “……”

 

After Yuan Zheng ascended the throne, he used iron-blooded means to eliminate the remnants of evil, clearing those who should be eliminated and keeping those who should be kept. After a combination of kindness and force, things in the court gradually got back on track, and everything became orderly.

 

Cen Yelan went back to the General’s Mansion and attended the morning court. In the majestic golden palace, Yuan Zheng wore a pearl tassel on his head, a dragon robe, and sat high on the throne. His gestures were full of the majesty of an emperor. Cen Yelan stood at the head of the military commanders, looking at Yuan Zheng’s calm appearance. Indeed, the emperor and Meng Tan had taught Yuan Zheng very well over the years.

 

Some people are born with brilliance, and Yuan Zheng is undoubtedly one of them.

 

Cen Yelan stared at him for a long time. Yuan Zheng seemed to notice something and turned his head to look over. Through the pearl tassels, Cen Yelan seemed to see Yuan Zheng slightly raise the corner of his mouth.

 

Cen Yelan’s cheeks flushed, and he lowered his eyes uncomfortably, but he felt relieved in his heart. He thought with relief and melancholy that Yuan Zheng had indeed grown a lot.

 

Cen Yelan was pregnant, and Yuan Zheng originally disagreed with him attending the morning court. However, Cen Yelan insisted on going, saying that the court robe was loose and would not be a problem. Besides, he was in charge of the border troops and had made many great contributions. If he stayed in the capital but did not attend the court, he would easily give himself up to criticism.

 

Yuan Zheng had no choice but to let him go.

 

Perhaps everything was about to be settled. Yuan Zheng’s headaches had improved, and he no longer had nightmares all night long and had trouble falling asleep.

 

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Yuan Zheng couldn’t fall asleep for a long time, so he took Cheng Huai out of the palace and headed to the General’s mansion. He was a frequent visitor to the General’s mansion. After Cen Yelan returned to the mansion, Yuan Zheng saw that the original border troops had all returned to the northern border, and there were only some veterans who had returned from the northern border in the mansion, so he directly transferred people to serve as the mansion soldiers to guard the General’s mansion.

 

When Yuan Zheng pushed the door open and entered, Cen Yelan had already fallen asleep. There was a lamp on in the room, the candlelight was dim. Cen Yelan had been sleepy since he got pregnant, and Yuan Zheng deliberately stepped lightly so he didn’t wake him up.

 

Yuan Zheng stood by the bed and watched for a while, then quietly got on the bed without taking off his boots and socks. He leaned over and kissed the corner of Cen Yelan’s mouth. Cen Yelan seemed to be aware of something, and with half-opened eyes, he looked at Yuan Zheng sleepily.

 

Yuan Zheng smiled at him, patted him gently, and whispered, “Go back to sleep.”

 

Cen Yelan looked at him for a while, then raised his hand to hug Yuan Zheng, pressed his temple, and said, “Dreaming again?”

 

Yuan Zheng was stunned and held his breath. Cen Yelan gently pressed his head with his fingers and said in a low voice with a hint of sleepiness, “Don’t be afraid.”

 

His voice was so soft that it was barely audible, but Yuan Zheng’s heart trembled violently, and his blood started to boil. He held Cen Yelan’s fingers, kissed, and licked them with the tip of his tongue.

 

After a few breaths, Cen Yelan opened his eyes, completely awake, and said, “…Ah Zheng.”

 

Yuan Zheng looked at Cen Yelan deeply, licked his lips tenderly, and whispered, “I love you.”

 

The kiss slowly turned from gentle to intense, and the breathing became rapid. The two bodies were tightly pressed together. Cen Yelan had just gotten rid of his sleepiness and fell into strong desire again. He was aware of Yuan Zheng’s emotions in a trance, and he clamped his legs tightly together, panting, “Don’t—”

 

Yuan Zheng pecked the corner of his mouth, but then he forcefully spread his legs apart and said, “Be good, it won’t hurt the child.”

 

Yuan Zheng said, “I asked the imperial physician, it is beneficial and harmless to make love properly during the third month of pregnancy.”

 

A wave of heat rushed straight to his brain. Cen Yelan’s cheeks would burn whenever he thought about how Yuan Zheng asked the imperial physician, “How can you… ask this?”

 

Yuan Zheng bit his earlobe and said, “Zhen is so suffocating.”