Chao Ge finally let him go. If he had really gone all in, not only would Yan Guan not be able to bear it, he himself wouldn’t have been able to restrain either.
The next day, Yan Guan didn’t wake up again until afternoon. Chao Ge wasn’t in the palace hall. Yan Guan sat on the bed for a while, the absurdity of the past two days flashing through his mind. He looked down at his body. Was there even a single patch of skin left unmarked? He nearly fainted at the sight.
Ding ding dang! The crystal curtain outside the hall clinked, and Yan Guan quickly wrapped himself up tightly and flopped back down into bed.
Chao Ge came in and saw the person still asleep, he couldn’t help but feel a bit worried. He hadn’t even eaten breakfast yet. Chao Ge reached out and pinched Yan Guan’s cheek. No reaction. But when he saw his jaw tighten, Chao Ge coughed to hold back his smile.
“So now you know how to be shy? I don’t even know which Yao Jing possessed you last night…”
Yan Guan instantly sat up, and clamped a hand tightly over Chao Ge’s mouth, both ashamed and angry, his face flushed red all the way down to his neck. “Don’t say it, don’t say it!”
“Alright, alright, I won’t say anything. Come eat something,” Chao Ge caught his hand and kissed it.
After dinner. Although the effects of the medicine had worn off, what they had done truly broken all his personal boundaries. Yan Guan sat on the beauty couch stubbornly cuddling a soft pillow in his arms, and refused to even glance at the bed.
Chao Ge leaned over and pulled him into his arms with practiced ease. Yan Guan stiffened for a moment before relaxing.
“Did Bindeya tell you the effects of that medicine?” Yan Guan had understood by now that it was no ordinary aphrodisiac.
“Hmm…", Chao Ge pressed, and Yan Guan nodded.
Chao Ge sighed, lowered his head and kissed the top of Yan Guan’s head. “The medicine only accounts for only three — tenths, what about the remaining seven — tenths?”
Yan Guan stared at the exquisite wood carvings in front of him and didn't speak for a long time. Chao Ge was not in a hurry, and gently coaxed him, “That first night when I stroked your back, and you cried like that. Do you know what I was thinking then?”
The back of my neck was suddenly covered with warmth. Chao Ge pecked him carefully, tone slightly strained, "I love you...ojianame."
Yan Guan trembled, his cheeks quivering uncontrollably. He bit down hard on his lips. Pain that had festered for years had long since scabbed over, but he never thought that one day new flesh and blood would grow again.
The language of the foreigners was distant and mysterious, but Yan Guan knew what it meant. He turned around and looked at Chao Ge, crashing headfirst into those deep brown eyes — brimming with a smile, and glistening with tears. It turned out that the eagle of Sangta Grassland would stay for him, and the most honorable king of Wugan also shed tears.
He had always worried about gains and losses in front of his lover. He was also afraid that he would be rejected. Even if he didn't want to care about those rumours, the words had still reached his ears saying that he was using his beauty to please others...
Yan Guan buried his head in Chao Ge’s embrace and softly mimicked his tone, “Ojianame.”
The tips of their noses touched each other, Chao Ge smiled and asked, "Me?"
A question he already knew the answer to. Yan Guan held his face and kissed him, as if to block his mouth. He silently thought in his heart that never would he waver, or be afraid, ever again. Three parts of medicine and seven parts of true love — he should have figured it out long ago.
Chao Ge wrapped his arms around him, and deepened the kiss. All the anxious uncertainties finally melted away.
When Bindeya entered Tongfeng Hall again, she was surprised to find Chao Ge actually looking quite well. Summoning her courage, she asked, “Is Yan Guan feeling better?”
Chao Ge gave a soft “mm,” but he couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at his lips. Since the day they laid bare their hearts to each other, Yan Guan had clearly become more indulgent toward him. The last remaining barrier between monarch and subject had finally crumbled, and now the two got along like ordinary lovers.
After listening to him speak Bindeya sniffed emotionally, thinking that she was really a miracle doctor who could not only heal people, but also heal hearts.
She was still patting herself on the back, when she suddenly heard Chao Ge say, “Put your black market dealings on hold for now.”
“What?! Chao Ge, how can you kill the donkey once the grinding is done?!”(1)
"I will be returning to the palace in a few days. There will definitely be some fluctuations after the Crown Prince is appointed. Then I’ll have to go south to Liang Dynasty to offer an apology. With the Emperor so far away, there will be no one to keep an eye on you.”
“Oh,” Bindeya let out a sigh of relief — so it was in preparation for Chao Lun’s ascension. Then she really needed to keep a low profile for a while. Thinking of her elder brother far away in Sangta, she realized that Chao Ge had already started planning everything back then. When she thought about it this way, why did she feel a little pitiful?
Bindeya shook her head and thought to herself, Why am I worrying about this? That guy’s got a beauty in his arms and is having the time of his life.
Later, Yan Guan got in touch with Dr. Wuritu from the Imperial Medical Bureau. He was more comfortable writing books, and he didn't have to stay up all night. The two of them enjoyed carefree shameless time in the Summer Resort. Yan Guan and Chao Ge’s relationship became even more unrestrained, but Chao Ge was more than happy to see such a change. That’s how it should be.
—-
August. Chao Lun, now stationed in the capital, finally dealt with all the powerful noble families and rode out of the city to welcome Chao Ge back to the court.
Back at Cheng’en Hall, the two brothers sat talking in the study. After calmly explaining his plans, Chao Ge looked up and saw that at some point, Chao Lun had started crying. Chao Ge clicked his tongue in disgust, "Why are you crying? You are about to become the ruler, but you are still so fragile."
Chao Lun wiped his tears and called out, voice choked with emotion, “Big Brother…”
Chao Ge broke out in goosebumps all over his body. Who made him bear this title for so many years? Now that things had come to this, what else could he do but go over and offer a few words of comfort.
"Let the priest pick a good day for the coronation ceremony to establish the crown prince. I’ll be gone for two or three months heading south. When I come back, it will be just in time for the annual sacrifice. By then, with all the gods as witnesses, the enthronement can take place on the Holy Mountain.”
“Hmm,” Chao Lun had been handling government affairs in recent days, and now had a deeper understanding of the warmth and coldness of human relationships. Occasionally, letters would arrive from the Summer Resort, and between the lines, he could catch glimpses of the life shared by Chao Ge and Yan Guan. He didn’t even know when he had begun to feel envious. Looking back, he realized that his past self had been rather narrow-minded.
His eldest brother was an exceptional man. He was brilliant in both governance and military affairs, and his character and moral conduct were excellent as well. Since he wholeheartedly recognized only Yan Guan [as his consort], then as the younger brother, what reason did he have to side with outsiders?
“Then you can let the Pingkang Marquis receive the honour alongside.”
Yan Guan had never received an official title or recognition. If he were to stand beside Chao Ge in the great hall, his identity would be self-evident. Chao Ge was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, then smiled, “You’ve actually come around. Saves me a lot of talking. The ceremonial robes were ordered long ago.”
"Ah?" Chao Lun looked at his smiling eldest brother and was speechless for a moment. He had indeed overthought things…
On the day of Coronation, Chao Ge stayed in the room to help Yan Guan dress in his ceremonial robes. The lotus patterns were all embroidered in gold thread, with jade and red pearls adorning the cuffs and shoulders. The only difference from Chao Ge’s was the colour — one black and one white. Dressed up and standing together, they were a perfect couple. Anyone could see the meaning behind it, and no one dared to say a word.
After the lengthy ceremony concluded and a few days of rest, Chao Ge and his entourage prepared to head south.
Footnotes:
**wǒ de bǎo bèi (我的宝贝) - people familiar with c-dramas would know that “baobei” can mean a lot of things from “precious treasure” to “darling baby”. I didn’t want to choose one meaning for it, so it’s kept as is.
卸磨殺驢 (xiè mò shā lǘ) – lit. to kill the donkey once it’s done grinding the mill; fig. to discard someone once they’re no longer useful
T/N: Happy Pride, everyone, and sorry for the delay.
I haven’t abandoned it, believe it or not. If you are familiar with Hills have Eyes, the place I live in will give that setting an inferiority complex. While generally we don’t have an issue with power outage (unless someone steals the Distribution Transformer, or hangs themselves from the electric lines - both of which actually has happened in the past), this year we were blessed with early monsoon (April-end, instead of usual mid-June). So to prevent disasters, since this is a high-rainfall prone mountain/jungle area, they have been shutting off the power lines for safety reasons. So, our electricity schedule has been something like 3 days off, then 1 day on… And when we did have electricity, the network was so bad (no wifi, I use mobile data. Jio works here fine, so don’t worry) that I even started paying for youtube premium because that’s literally the only thing that’s stopped me from going crazy.
So, anyways… we just have 4 more chapters to go till the end. Will upload the rest of chapters in one go in a day or two. Till then, thanks for your patience and understanding.
