ITOTIABSAM | The Tyrant in the Deep Palace | 69
The Emperor's feet were delicate.
Gu Cong had noticed this when he helped the Emperor put on shoes earlier.
Perhaps it was for the sake of presenting a dignified appearance to outsiders, or for some other reason, but the appearance of the young Emperor's feet, which might be seen by palace attendants in the morning, remained pristine.
Now, after the medicinal bath and the steam, the thin layer of skin, with faint blue veins underneath, blushed with a delicate pink hue. Not only was it attractive, but it even had a touch of cuteness.
Gu Cong swore that at first, he had no ulterior motives whatsoever. He was solely focused on making the Emperor as comfortable as possible and ensuring a good night's sleep.
But after he had "examined" the Emperor's legs from the knees upwards, he wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead and looked up. At that moment, when he saw the expression on the Emperor's face, everything suddenly felt wrong.
Massaging acupoints, even with careful control of pressure, would inevitably cause some discomfort.
With most of his black hair cascading behind him, only two strands clinging to his forehead, the young Emperor's lips were tightly pressed together, tinged with a hint of moisture, a deep red as if enticing one to pluck them, subtly and silently.
In the past, the Emperor had always been dominant. No matter how painful or unbearable the situation, he would never show weakness. Like a flower blooming on the edge of a cliff, thin yet unattainable, he still gave the impression of being out of reach.
And at this moment, perhaps due to the excessively loose inner garment enveloping him like a cloud, there was a sense of relative delicateness about the Emperor. Or perhaps it was because all his attention was focused on his legs, leaving him with no time to maintain a cold facade.
The young Emperor's furrowed brows and the subtle struggle between the medicinal herbs and his own hands revealed a hint of childishness rarely seen, fitting his age.
As if finally sensing the burning gaze beside him, he moved his legs, causing ripples to spread across the water barrel. With a light glance, he asked, "Why are you staring at me?"
There was no anger; if one had to describe it, it would be more like mild reproach.
Splash.
The water rippled in circles.
In just that fleeting moment of lowering his gaze, the Emperor, who had seemed distant as if in the heavens, suddenly felt closer, infused with a hint of vibrant liveliness.
His senses suddenly became ten times, a hundred times more acute than usual. Guo Cong could clearly sense that, due to the pain and tingling sensation, the Emperor's feet were desperately trying to evade him, yet hesitated to truly kick him, splashing water everywhere. In the end, he could only reluctantly let himself be caught by Guo Cong's hands time and time again.
Like a small creature testing the boundaries in the territory of a wild beast, the Emperor stubbornly probed the limits, only to be repeatedly pulled back to his original position by the other's claws, yet naively feeling safe.
— Of course, this was just an illusion.
Alert, suspicious, with a hint of madness tempered by calmness, not just the Emperor, but anyone who could survive and ascend the Dragon Throne, apart from babbling infants, would have no traces of innocence.
Logic told him this, yet Guo Cong's heart stubbornly insisted that everything he had just felt from the Emperor was real.
"Because it's beautiful." Guo Cong, after a moment's delay, responded to the Emperor's question, and then uttered a seemingly frivolous statement that could cost him his head: "The Emperor just now, was very beautiful."
As the slightly warm medicinal bath gradually faded, just before the Emperor could erupt in anger and chase him away, Guo Cong quickly added, "The water has cooled down. Does Your Majesty feel more comfortable now?"
Indeed, he did.
Xie Ye nodded, giving a vague "Mm" in response.
Feeling relieved from the sweat and refreshed in body, the headache seemed to have eased a bit as well.
But that was impossible.
[Don't speak so definitively.], unexpectedly, 1101 chimed in, "The data shows that your chaotic mental fluctuations have indeed improved."
Although only by a small margin.
[Perhaps his desire to cure you is too strong, and instinctively, he’s competing with the world consciousness for the stolen soul traits?]
Drawing from experiences in previous worlds, this time, without waiting for the host to ask, it made a relatively reasonable guess on its own, then patched up nervously, [Of course, considering there's no data in the database...]
However, Xie Ye interrupted its words, saying, "I like this explanation."
"Really? Your Majesty, you don’t have to coax me." Picking up the cloth draped over the edge of the wooden tub, Guo Cong carefully dried the Emperor's legs and feet, then removed the tub and put down the Emperor's trousers, saying, "Your Majesty is sweating. Taking another bath tonight might lead to catching a cold. Let's just change into another inner garment for tonight."
"Mm." Entirely lacking in energy, Xie Ye couldn't muster any enthusiasm. His shoes were far away, and Xie Ye couldn't be bothered to reach for them, so he simply stretched out his legs, placing his clean feet on Guo Cong's knees, avoiding getting them dirty again.
Gu Cong stopped his hand just as he was about to go help the Little Emperor get his shoes.
In fact, his arms were long enough to reach without needing to stand up, but his brain automatically ignored this option, willingly allowing the Little Emperor to "bully" him.
However, the person stretching their legs uncomfortably soon grew tired and leaned back, retracting onto the dragon bed.
His right hand moved instinctively, not sure if it was to prevent the other from knocking into something or to keep him close, lightly pinching his fingertip. Instead of calling someone in to tidy up, as he should have done, Guo Cong didn't say a word. He relied on his blue robe to keep all the palace attendants away and took care of everything himself, working tirelessly to clean up the mess.
He didn't want anyone to see the Little Emperor's current state.
Not even another eunuch.
By the time he washed his face with warm water and cleaned his hands, the youth lying on the brocade quilt had already closed his eyes, breathing steadily, looking like he was asleep.
Worried that the sweat on his body hadn't dried and he might catch a chill, Guo Cong approached quietly, intending to lift the blanket that hadn't been pressed down on the side to cover the Little Emperor properly. But as soon as he made a move, his wrist was firmly grabbed.
This was probably just a reflexive defense mechanism, because the fierceness in the young man's eyes only flashed for a moment before he slowly released his grip on Guo Cong.
"Don't disturb me," he said.
"You'll catch a cold. If you catch a cold, you'll have to take bitter medicine." The Little Emperor looked thin, but he had a strong grip. Guo Cong's right wrist throbbed dully from the pressure, but he couldn't help but smile.
The young man, who closed his eyes again, said irritably, "Stop treating me like a child."
So Guo Cong obediently fell silent.
...But his hands didn't behave themselves. He lifted the Little Emperor by the waist with one hand, handling him like a porcelain doll, and skillfully changed his clothes to a new inner robe.
As for the underpants, he didn't touch them for now, afraid of waking the Little Emperor.
It was a good night, with no thunder or rain, and a pleasantly cool breeze dispersed the heat. While his head still ached, it was somewhat relieved compared to before. Wrapped carefully in the brocade quilt, the Little Emperor slept soundly.
It had been a long time since he had such a good dream in this new world. When he opened his eyes again, the sunlight was faint, and a man in a blue robe embroidered with gold was kneeling beside his bed, holding a large palm-leaf fan tightly in his hand.
This perspective was all too familiar to Xie Ye. With the experience of the previous two worlds, this time he simply moved his fingertips from a distance, lightly touching the other's hair, and indeed didn't wake him up.
But soon, fully awake, he noticed that something was amiss.
The bedding was slightly damp, uncomfortable, cool, and sticky.
Xie Ye's expression changed.
What exactly had Guo Cong soaked him in?
He was sure he hadn't dreamed anything strange last night.
If 1101 wasn't blocked by privacy regulations at this moment, it would surely defend Guo Cong weakly: There was nothing wrong with the medicine, otherwise the Imperial Hospital wouldn't dare to send it. It's just that the Little Emperor's body is a bit weak, lacking in some vitality, and coupled with deep sleep, it's actually a normal development.
Unfortunately, 1101 wasn't around.
Guo Cong was sitting on the wooden steps beside the dragon bed, with long limbs. Xie Ye wanted to get out of bed, but he couldn't avoid Guo Cong's presence.
“Your Majesty?” Xie Ye, who was usually quite clean, hesitated whether to wake the person up or not when he felt the bedding move, but Guo Cong, who had just woken up, straightened up on his own.
His voice, just awakened, was deeper and huskier than usual, filled with magnetism. Seeing the Little Emperor sitting up with the blanket wrapped around him, Guo Cong moved his muscles slightly and reassured him, "Your Majesty, are you feeling trapped? Don't worry, I'm here."
Xie Ye froze in place: ...
He wasn't someone who was particularly awkward or pretentious, so since he had been caught, he might as well admit it. However, in this life, Guo Cong was an eunuch, and although he had never shown any signs of caring, Xie Ye didn't really want to bring up these matters in front of Guo Cong.
"I slept well last night," Xie Ye shook his head, pulling the blanket tighter without showing any change in his expression, "You stayed up all night, you should go call someone else."
Guo Cong's remaining drowsiness immediately vanished.
For so many days, whenever he was around, the Little Emperor never asked for anyone else.
He was fine yesterday, so what happened today? Even if he was worried that the first time the other person gave him a massage and bath would be uncomfortable, and even if he had spent several hours by the bedside, he wouldn't be too tired to even serve tea and dress him.
Not hiding his surprise and grievance in his eyes, Guo Cong didn't retort, but he didn't move either.
His sense of smell was far more acute than the average person's, and his nose twitched unconsciously as he faintly detected the subtle scent of oleander flowers.
Combined with the series of unusual actions by the Little Emperor after waking up, before waiting for the other person to respond, he understood what was going on. In an instant, a surge of even greater grievance overwhelmed him:
Why? Why should someone else be called for such a private matter? Was there something he didn't do well enough?
Accompanying this feeling was a towering possessiveness. Although he knew the other person was an emperor and couldn't be exclusively possessed by one person, he was daring enough to imagine trapping him in his embrace like last night.
Knowing well that someone was never good at acting and emotions were always written on his face, Xie Ye sighed silently and kicked the arm of the person sitting beside the bed under the blanket. "Hot water."
"I want to change clothes."
The clear signal of reassurance should have made Gu Cong feel pleased, but there was still a small corner of his heart clamoring for more.
The time waiting for the Little Emperor to change clothes was so hard to endure. The rustling sounds behind the bed curtains, the shadowy figures glimpsed through the fabric—these were the contents that eunuchs shouldn't see, shouldn't hear, and shouldn't take to heart, yet Gu Cong remembered them vividly.
These were not the thoughts that a eunuch should have.
Nor were they related to his usual rhetoric of loyalty to the emperor.
Emotions churned in his chest, complex and indistinguishable. It wasn't until the voice of Li Dezong came from outside the hall that Xie Ye pretended to lower his gaze, no longer staring at the bed curtains. "Your Majesty."
"The palace attendant reports that there was a fierce argument in the court today."
"The officials are in disarray, waiting for Your Majesty's decision."
1 Comments
Thanks for the update
ReplyDeletePost a Comment