Wang Dian, with his sleeves rolled up, stood at the bottom of the stairs. The reflection in his eyes was of Liang Ye, who was looking down with a smile. Behind him was the bustling and lively scene of the capital.
“There will be such a day,” he said softly, but he knew that Liang Ye must have heard him.
The smile on Liang Ye’s face suddenly brightened. He jumped down from above, wrapped his arms around Wang Dian’s waist, and then took him in a leap from the bridge. Stepping on the extinguished lanterns on the river surface for leverage, they elegantly landed on the shore, causing a gasp of surprise from the crowd.
“Show off,” Wang Dian raised an eyebrow, even though he also enjoyed the feeling of low-altitude flying.
Liang Ye didn’t care about the curious gazes of others. He leaned into Wang Dian’s ear and whispered, “Didn’t you want to release a lantern?”
Wang Dian looked around at the girls and felt a bit embarrassed, “Forget it, they’re all girls—”
“Boss, give us a lantern.” Liang Ye had already turned around and shouted to the lantern vendor nearby, taking out two copper coins from his sleeve.
“Young master, our lanterns cost three coins each,” the vendor said with a smile as he took the money. “You’re still one short.”
Laing Ye searched his sleeve again but couldn’t find any more copper coins. Seeing this, Wang Dian reached into his own sleeve. Instead of copper coins, he grabbed a stack of silver notes. He looked at the vendor, who exclaimed, “Young master, this won’t do. Even if I sold everything I have, I couldn’t give you change.”
“Forget it, we don’t want it anymore,” Wang Dian put the silver notes back into his sleeve.
“I still have some here.” Laing Ye somehow pulled out three shiny copper coins that looked like they had been polished for a long time. He gave one to the vendor and turned to Wang Dian, saying confidently, “Choose whichever you like.”
“….…” Wang Dian chuckled and picked up a lantern that caught his eye.
“Young master, would you like to write a wish?” The vendor pointed to a table nearby, which was equipped with brushes, ink, paper, and cut strips of paper.
“No need,” Wang Dian declined with a smile, picked up the lantern, and walked forward with Liang Ye.
“The coins you just took out don’t look like ordinary copper coins,” Wang Dian said.
“They were given to me by master to learn divination,” Laing Ye showed him the remaining two copper coins in his palm. The two small discs spun quickly between his fingers, dazzling to the eye and making his fingers look even more slender and beautiful.
Wang Dian couldn’t help but recall what he had said earlier in the tavern about “using hands”. He coughed lightly and looked away, “Is it appropriate to give them away?”
“Never really learned it, and won’t be using it in the future anyway.” Liang Ye seemed quite indifferent.
“Who exactly is your master, and why teach both martial arts and divination at the same time?” Wang Dian couldn’t help but be curious.
“Just a plain and unremarkable Taoist priest.” Liang Ye flipped a copper coin in the air, and it spun a few times before he caught it firmly between his fingers.
Wang Dian took another coin and tried it himself, barely managing to grab it in his hand, so Liang Ye enthusiastically taught him how to make the coin spin a few more times in the air.
Releasing a lantern was just for the novelty of it, and Wang Dian soon grew tired of standing by the river, as he was bitten by mosquitoes all over his neck and wrists, despite wearing clothes.
When they arrived at the inn Liang Ye had mentioned, Wang Dian went behind the screen to bathe, ordering the somewhat restless Liang Ye not to come over. But as soon as he stepped into the water, Liang Ye slyly strolled in, hands behind his back.
Wang Dian looked at him with a sullen expression.
“You only said to not take off the clothes, and didn’t say can’t watch you bathing.” Liang Ye dragged a chair over and pursed his lips. “Besides, there’s nothing on your body that Zhen hasn’t seen before,”
Wang Dian leaned against the edge of the wooden barrel. “Do you want me to settle old accounts with you?”
Liang Ye sensibly closed his mouth and lay by the tub, idly playing with the water in a bored manner and splashing it onto his face. “Zhen wants to bathe with you.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Wang Dian saw through Liang Ye’s lecherous intentions and couldn’t help but ask, “Can’t you think of anything else in your mind?”
Liang Ye admitted honestly, “Lately, all Zhen can think about is you.”
“…..” Wang Dian fell silent for a moment. “Hasn’t your master taught you what being reserved is?”
“No, Zhen barely sees him once a year.” Liang Ye’s hands in the water seemed to have eyes as they knew exactly where to touch. Wang Dian pulled his mischievous paw out and warned him repeatedly, “Stop fooling around. I’m really not a gentleman.”
Excitement flashed in Liang Ye’s eyes, casually discarded his underclothes on the floor, saying cheerfully, “Neither is Zhen.”
The water in the barrel splashed everywhere as Liang Ye squeezed into the not-so-spacious wooden barrel with Wang Dian. Their legs intertwined under the water, and Wang Dian closed his eyes with a headache, knowing this bath was not going to be a peaceful one.
He shouldn’t have chosen to bathe when Liang Ye was around, but after a day of crawling through a dog hole and sitting at tables, he had reached his limit.
Liang Ye wasn’t really bathing at all; his hands were wandering and probing. Taking advantage of Wang Dian’s unavoidable proximity in the barrel, and finally wielding his paws into practice.
Wang Dian placed his hands on the edge of the tub, his gaze darkening, and looked at Liang Ye. “Take it off.”
Liang Ye arrogantly raised an eyebrow, his hand movements not unfamiliar. Wang Dian’s breath suddenly tightened, his hand on the barrel’s edge gripping tightly, the knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
Outside the window, the evening breeze rustled gently, and cicadas chirped loudly. The air suddenly grew warmer, thickening and becoming oppressive. Suddenly, an unknown faint flower tree scent, carried by the breeze, filled the room, causing sweat to bead on Wang Dian’s forehead and nose.
Liang Ye watched the subtle expressions on Wang Dian’s face, leaned in to affectionately nuzzle against the corner of his mouth, his eyes gleaming with a smug and provocative smile. Reflected in those slightly shining eyes were Wang Dian’s slightly distracted gaze, and the faint blush on his ears. It was as if a hungry leopard had finally found its prey and seized the almost blushing ear.
Wang Dian didn’t push him away, lazily lifting the hand from the barrel’s edge to rest on Liang Ye’s shoulder, skimming over his butterfly bone without entering the water, fingers tracing the scars that hadn’t fully healed on his body.
Liang Ye stiffened for a moment, then lifted his head to stare at him with an ambiguous expression.
“Return a favor with a favor,” Wang Dian’s voice carried a seductive tone. “Don’t you want to give it a try?”
“Zhen doesn’t…..” Liang Ye frowned, about to refuse, but Wang Dian’s other hand held his chin and he kissed him.
Wang Dian’s kiss was much like him–gentle, refined, yet with an underlying force that couldn’t be refused. Although Liang Ye had learned a few things from him, he always seemed to have some new tricks up his sleeve, making Liang Ye curious and eager to try.
The water rippled, spilling over the barrel onto the wooden floor, wetting the underclothes Liang Ye had thrown down. The cicadas outside seemed even louder, and the midsummer night felt restless and hot, making every breath feel suffocatingly warm.
Wang Dian turned his head and glanced at the bite mark on his shoulder, picked up his clothes, and draped them over himself. “You’re born in the Year of the Dog, aren’t you?”
Liang Ye, looking satisfied, stood up from the barrel without wearing anything. Wang Dian winced and tossed his outer robe to him, casting a disdainful glance at the barrel water. “I’ll have the waiter bring fresh water for another bath.”
Liang Ye’s gaze was fixed on his movements. “Together?”
“Together, your uncle,” Wang Dian pointed to the moon outside. “It’ll be dawn soon if we keep fooling around.”
Wrapping himself in the robe, Liang Ye still savored the moment and said to Wang Dian, “The pleasure shared, the words in books can’t capture even a fraction of it.”
“Shut up, ancestor,” Wang Dian said, noticing Liang Ye’s gaze had intensified more than before. Suddenly feeling a bit impulsive just now, perhaps he had given Liang Ye a very bad start. If this guy were to eat the marrow and know the taste——
(t/n: eat the marrow and know the taste-a metaphor that people become greedy after getting a taste once)
As he watched the person getting handsy and touchy, Wang Dian thought to himself with a wooden face, damn, maybe he already tasted the essence.
Confused Wang Dian, Wang Dian who loses his senses at the sight of beauty.
However, under his coercion and persuasion, this ancestor finally settled down allowing him to take a bath, even forcing Wang Dian to wash him again before being allowed to sleep on the bed.
Liang Ye was content, kissing here and there, as if everything with Wang Dian was incredibly fresh to him, staying excited for over half an hour without falling asleep.
Wang Dian covered his mouth. “Sleep.”
Liang Ye obediently nodded, looking at him. Wang Dian found it hard to resist his demeanor, coupled with the fact that he had just done something “intimate”, there was always a subtle difference from before. He pinched Liang Ye’s cheek and whispered, “We have to get up early tomorrow to return to the palace. No more fooling around.”
Perhaps never having seen Wang Dian speak so gently, Liang Ye’s eyes flickered, and he reached out to pull him into an embrace, kissing his cheek and saying contentedly, “From now on, talk to Zhen like this.”
Wang Dian had already closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Liang Ye covered Wang Dian’s mouth and nose, trying to wake him up, but his intuition told him that this might make Wang Dian angry. He looked at Wang Dian’s sleeping figure, and a strange feeling welled up in his heart. It seemed that watching Wang Dian sleep also brought him joy.
How strange.
He let go of his hand, and clumsily patted Wang Dian’s back lightly, imitating what Wang Dian had done before, and closed his eyes.
The next day.
When Liang Ye woke up, he was full of energy and radiant. When he returned to the palace, he even wanted to take Wang Dian and fly over the palace wall that was tens to nearly a hundred meters high.
Wang Dian promptly stopped his terrifying idea. At least he returned to his sleeping quarters while the sky was still dim, and comfortably took a bath in the luxurious imperial bath.
After he finished bathing, Liang Ye also happened to return from the royal garden, holding a large bunch of lotus flowers, smiling brighter than the flowers, “Zhen will put them in the royal study for you to look at. Some of the flower buds are even more beautiful after they bloom.”
Wang Dian didn’t really like lotus flowers, but seeing him smile so happily, he couldn’t bear to disappoint him, so he nodded, “Let Yun Fu find a larger water tank to put them in.”
Liang Ye, holding the flowers, happily walked out, but was suddenly stopped by Wang Dian, “Liang Ye, are you busy today?”
Liang Ye turned around in surprise, pretending to be indifferent, “Not busy, Zhen is very free today.”
So he could play around to his heart’s content. It was definitely more enjoyable in this large pool than in a small wooden barrel—
“Great, then you can disguise yourself and accompany me to the royal study to look at the memorials.” Wang Dian tied his belt, walked to his side, and smiled at him gently, “I’ve been accumulating them for two days, and I can’t get through them all by myself.”
“Zhen…” Liang Ye was dazzled by his smile. The refusal on the tip of his tongue was somehow swallowed back, but he still warned, “Zhen will only accompany you for one day.”
“One day is enough.” Wang Dian smiled easily, “I’m very happy that you agreed, just don’t tire yourself out.”
Liang Ye’s mood instantly brightened, “It’s just looking at memorials for one day.”
Meanwhile, at Xingqing Palace.
Yang Man looked at the bare lotus leaves in the pond and almost passed out, “Who is the audacious scoundrel who did this!? The Golden Thread Lotus that the Grand Empress Dowager has been cultivating for ten years, not a single one is left——”
“Eunuch Yang!”
“Chief Eunuch Yang!”
The surrounding eunuchs and palace maids rushed up to support the old man who was about to faint from anger, and they were in a mess trying to pinch his Renzhong acupoint. (TL: philtrum)
Yang Man took a deep breath, his turbid eyes scanned the surroundings, and he shakily pointed at the arrogant muddy paw print on the railing.
With a crack, he fainted again.
