Love and Desire

Wu Dequan was worried sick. Shen Tingjue shoved him out the door, and he stood beneath the corridor eaves with his hands tucked into his sleeves, sighing heavily with a mournful expression.

Dark Two poked his head out from the roof, swaying the nearly empty wine jug. "Eunuch Wu, what's with that look? My chief isn't going to eat His Highness, is he?"

Dark Seven lay on his side with his arms folded, listening intently.

Dark Three kicked him. "Why don't you just lift the roof tiles while you're at it?"

"I wouldn't dare." After listening for a while, Dark Seven sounded disappointed. "Why is there still no movement inside?"

Wu Dequan blew out his beard and glared, bellowing irritably at the roof, "What kind of movement are you hoping to hear, huh?"

Dark Seven jolted and hurriedly covered his ears. Hanging upside down from the roof, he pointed inside and gestured for silence.

Shen Tingjue sprawled over Xiao Hanye's shoulder, his hand wandering beneath his clothes. Before long, he had pulled half the Crown Prince's robes open.

"Are you really asleep? Then I'll do whatever I please. Your shadow guards seem to be looking forward to me doing something to Your Highness. Shouldn't I live up to their expectations?"

Xiao Hanye: "..."

Xiao Hanye could endure no more and could not keep pretending to sleep. He grabbed Shen Tingjue's hand from his collar. "Get off!"

Propping himself up, Shen Tingjue gazed straight at him, teasing amusement steeped in his eyes.

Xiao Hanye grew even more irritated under that appraising stare. "Get lost!"

Shen Tingjue blew gently against his ear, his fingers sliding over his firm back as he whispered, "At Your Highness's vigorous age, don't pretend to be some upright gentleman. Come have some fun."

At those final words, Xiao Hanye nearly choked on his own saliva. He found it truly difficult to accept that the shadow guard who had once been stiff as wood had become so frivolous and licentious.

He rolled over and sat up, clutching the quilt as he retreated into a corner. Then, realizing that was inappropriate, he flung the quilt aside roughly, stepped forward twice, and said fiercely, "I advise you not to bring suffering upon yourself."

"Matters of love and desire should be settled with love and desire." Shen Tingjue lay down willingly, readying himself. "Come on."

For the first time, the Crown Prince understood what the words "unable to advance or retreat" meant. Retreating was not an option, nor was advancing. A stifling breath of frustration lodged in his chest. After a moment of silence, he laughed, suddenly seized Shen Tingjue's hands, and pinned them above his head.

What a joke.

Wasn't this just a contest to see who could be more unruly and wild? Did he really have anything to fear?

The bed boards creaked. Xiao Hanye pressed him down hard, squeezing his wrists until they reddened. "Teasing me gives you great pleasure, does it?"

"Mmm... not quite enough." Their breaths mingled as Shen Tingjue looked at him, his eyes shimmering at the corners. His mind raced through the still-fresh Secret Illustrations of Spring Nights, filled with thoughts of "red candles glowing, warm curtains, a spring night spent together." Tilting up his head, he kissed the Crown Prince's lips.

The kiss separated at once, yet left behind a heat that stirred the blood.

The force Xiao Hanye had been holding back was fierce. Like a predator clamping down on prey, he stole away the other man's chance to breathe and stripped away even the last trace of tenderness.

Shen Tingjue wrinkled Xiao Hanye's night robe in his fist and shuddered.

Xiao Hanye gripped Shen Tingjue's chin. "Can't take it? Weren't you quite capable? With only this much skill, you still dared invite someone to have fun?"

Shen Tingjue slipped beneath the bedding and rested for a moment. "If you and I switched positions, it would naturally be different."

Xiao Hanye gave a derisive laugh.

Looking at the Crown Prince from such close range, Shen Tingjue only found him more handsome the longer he looked. He narrowed his eyes, greed flickering within them, while his hands began wandering again, wantonly urging Xiao Hanye into impropriety.

Xiao Hanye truly was not cut out to be a gentleman.

Most of the inner chamber's lamps had gone out, leaving only a glass lamp burning. The night was drenched by a pool of spring water. Amid those rising, falling moments of intoxication, Xiao Hanye could not help recalling their fierce union on that first night. Back then, he had been controlled by medicine, and that encounter of love and desire had seemed veiled in mist, unreal and indistinct.

Now, the mist scattered amid their damp, hazy collision. Xiao Hanye abruptly realized that Shen Tingjue's gaze back then had seemed just like it was now, openly and completely expressing, I like you.

After losing his memories, he remembered only the affair of that night.

And only himself.

Sweat ran down Xiao Hanye's body as he rubbed the corner of Shen Tingjue's eye with his thumb. "Why do you like me?"

Could those scraps of memory alone truly drive him to continue loving him so deeply?

Shen Tingjue could not speak. He was too exhausted even to open his eyes, yet his hand still clutched Xiao Hanye's arm as though unwilling to let go. His cheek brushed the bedding, and he fell asleep.

After the weather turned cold, the Eldest Princess instructed Steward Feng to make sure Shen Tingjue put on extra clothes every day and not to neglect the matter.

Steward Feng took it to heart. He personally went to the Embroidered Clothing Workshop to order several winter outfits for Shen Tingjue, and on his way back to the residence, he also bought Shen Tingjue's favorite plum blossom noodle soup.

Shen Tingjue had not even attended morning court today. He lay facedown on his pillow, too languid to move. Even after smelling the plum blossom noodle soup, he remained sprawled on the bed, looking almost as though he were ill.

Steward Feng sensed that something was wrong. "Young Master, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

"No." Shen Tingjue rubbed his waist. "I was just too excited last night. I need some time to recover."

Steward Feng was utterly bewildered. "Ah?"

Shen Tingjue gave him a look that said, You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Then he turned over, pulled the quilt higher, and went back to sleep. By the time he woke again, most of the day had passed.

After eating a simple meal, Shen Tingjue stood beside the long corridor and watched several servants planting plum trees in the courtyard.

Dark Seven, carrying a huge bundle on his back, leaped down from the roof and vaulted over the railing in a few strides. With a cheerful grin, he cupped his fists. "Chief... Young Master, greetings."

The sudden descent of a masked man in black startled Steward Feng. He hurriedly stepped in front of Shen Tingjue and opened his mouth to call for someone to seize the assassin.

"It's fine. He's one of us." Shen Tingjue patted Steward Feng's shoulder, then glanced at the huge bundle on Dark Seven's back, baffled. "What are you doing?"

Dark Seven said solemnly, "His Highness bestowed a wrapping cloth upon this subordinate for packing his belongings and told this subordinate to follow Young Master from now on."

Shen Tingjue's expression turned complicated. After a moment of silence, he suddenly smiled. "His Highness sent you to protect me, right?"

Dark Seven scratched his head, unable to bear disappointing him. "...Yes."

As if.

In truth, he had been cast aside.

The cabinet officials had gathered in a side chamber of the administrative hall to deliberate. It had rained continuously these past few days, leaving the air damp and the weather cold. Charcoal braziers had been added to the hall for warmth, making the room pleasantly hot. The fragrance of tea curled through the air, blurring against the lattice windows.

The Minister of War said, "The four southern prefectures have drafted a proclamation and sent it to Qinghe, requesting that they join forces to suppress the bandits. Unfortunately, Qinghe's garrison troops are all military households left over from previous years—old, weak, sick, and disabled. Their fighting strength is insufficient. How could they possibly stand against wandering bandits and brigands?"

Another official blew on the tea froth. "Qinghe's garrison commander has concentrated military authority too heavily in his own hands. He refuses to recruit new soldiers and retains only old veterans. That is acceptable in peaceful times, but should anything truly happen, they could hardly support the situation. The southern prefectures lie close to the Danyang Grain Route. How can we allow bandits to run rampant? Why not dispatch the Tiger Roar Battalion to suppress them?"

The moment Xiao Hanye entered, the hall abruptly fell silent. Everyone hurriedly rose to salute him. Xiao Hanye took the seat of honor, casually picked up a memorial from the table to read, and gestured for everyone to sit.