SEHE Chapter 110

Affection 

Tang Xizhui stared blankly at that hand.

After a very long time, so long that Pei Yanci’s hand grew a bit sore, a trace of doubt floated up in his heart.

What was there to hesitate about? Compared to a certain dead end, wasn’t his uncertain outcome even more enticing?

He withdrew his hand in disappointment, sulkily about to lower it, when someone hastily grabbed his wrist.

“Why take it back? Planning to go back on your word?”

“I thought…”

“It’s so dirty, this lord pondered for ages about how to take hold of it.” Tang Xizhui took a fresh silk handkerchief to wipe his hand.

The corner of Pei Yanci’s mouth twitched. “Will you die from touching it? It’s just a bit of grease.”

“Don’t want to.”

“……”

“You should be clean and neat.” Tang Xizhui lowered his eyes.

“Which person in court have you seen who’s clean?”

“I can’t control others.” Tang Xizhui carefully wiped his hand, when suddenly another hand reached over with premeditated intent and vigorously smeared the back of his hand, leaving it gleaming with oil, then quickly withdrew.

“Damn you!” The Nine-Thousand-Years cried out in disgust, making Pei Yanci burst into hearty laughter.

“How childish!” Tang Xizhui glared at him.

“Then let go.” Pei Yanci proudly lifted his face to glare back at him.

“Won’t let go.”

As they glared at each other, the two gazed into each other’s eyes.

An inexplicable sentiment floated up thread by thread in their eyes, intertwining with each other, impossible to distinguish yours from mine, from the other’s eyes to one’s own eyes, then entering the heart, winding finely, warmly wrapping around.

Their hearts beat like drums.

Pei Yanci’s gaze flickered, and he turned his face away, awkwardly pulling his hand from the other’s grasp.

Tang Xizhui also turned his face to the side, his hands loosely clasped, covering his mouth as he coughed dryly.

An indescribable sentiment spread between the two.

The distance between them became that of a table again, filled in the middle with various dishes and wine. The pork that had been sliced into thin pieces still sat neatly arranged, the pig’s head with its mouth grinning open and eyes half-closed, conveying an inexplicable sense of benevolence.

“Don’t tell me you’re drunk silly again?” Tang Xizhui watched him stare at that pig’s head, looking left and right, then start giggling foolishly to himself. He couldn’t help but press his hand to his forehead.

Pei Yanci was somewhat drunk, but having been seasoned by the wine-soaked atmosphere of officialdom for a period of time, his alcohol tolerance had grown. His consciousness was quite clear; he was just a bit more excited than usual.

At this moment, he pointed at it with one hand while raising a finger to the sky with the other. He cleared his throat, put away his smile, and seriously made a vow. “Today with the thick earth below and this braised pig’s head on the table, I, Pei Yanci, hereby swear that from now on, the Nine-Thousand-Years Tang Xizhui and I will share fortune and face hardship together. When I become emperor, Tang Xizhui will be my Chief Steward Before the Throne. I guarantee that I will never abandon him, will protect him for a lifetime of safety and health, forever enjoying peace.”

“Now you should believe me, right? How about it, feel a bit more at ease?” Lowering his hand, Pei Yanci said with a grin.

That bright and pure smile bathed in sunlight, every inch glittering with scattered golden light.

Tang Xizhui was forced to look away from that brilliance, turning his head aside, yet the corner of his eye still couldn’t help but follow, not wanting to miss him like this.

How I want, how I want to keep him hidden away.

“Whoever believes you is the pig head.” He snorted coldly. Who’s protecting whom—don’t you have any sense of that?

“Someone who’s about to be emperor again doesn’t even know to give people a promotion.”

“What are you muttering about?” Pei Yanci tilted his head toward him.

“Nothing.”

Tang Xizhui smiled with a bleak expression, like a lifeless paper figure.

He would help him ascend to that position.

It was just that some words were best enjoyed as an amusement.

At least in this moment, he had received the most unprecedented emotion and comfortable pleasure of his lifetime.

This was already enough for him to give his remaining half-life and this worthless life.

————

The two ate this meal from before noon until evening. Not having seen each other for half a month, they seemed to have endless things to talk about. They chatted from court politics to the structure of Xiyu, from the founding history of Great Yu to the young masters and beauties of Anjing, the scenery of the northern frontier, the misty rain of Jiangnan, the unruliness of the southwest, and the peculiar customs of the small southern states.

It wasn’t until the tavern staff began knocking on the door saying curfew time was approaching and those not from this ward had better return quickly that Pei Yanci finally stretched, watched Tang Xizhui don his veiled hat again, and went downstairs with him.

Wushu had been sitting on a table in the main hall looking up at the second floor until he nearly fell asleep. He gave a sudden start and saw Pei Yanci standing before him. He complained, “Big Brother, you’ve finally come down. I thought you’d forgotten about me and gone back by yourself.”

“Let’s go.” Pei Yanci rubbed his head, nodded to Tang Xizhui, and they passed each other to part ways.

The carriage home drove swiftly. He always felt something was missing today.

Lifting the curtain, he saw lanterns under the eaves glowing with warm yellow light rushing past in the night, while pedestrians and buildings on the street became hazy and distorted black shadows, becoming symbols that had never stopped for him.

His heart seemed to have broken open a gap as well, its warmth rapidly flowing away with these people and things, swallowed by darkness.

Arriving at Pingkang Ward, he lifted the curtain and said to Wushu, “Go to the Chief Overseer’s mansion.”

“Huh? At this late hour?”

Wushu was only surprised for a moment but still turned the carriage toward the Chief Overseer’s mansion without a word.

In less than a quarter hour, Pei Yanci got off the carriage and saw the Imperial Guards heavily guarding the Chief Overseer’s mansion. Only then did his thoughts calm down.

What was he doing?

“Let’s go back.” Pei Yanci rubbed his brow.

Wushu felt intimidated looking at those Imperial Guards and found Big Brother’s attitude strange tonight, but didn’t dare ask more questions. He just said “Oh” and slowly turned the horse’s head around, driving the carriage back to their own mansion.

“You’re tired today too, go back and rest early.” Pei Yanci said.

“Got it. Mother found work as a wet nurse at the Xue mansion today. Brother Wuli also has to be on duty, and Brother Wang said there’s something at the Dali Temple—who knows what they’re doing.” Wushu chattered on. “They all have work and are very busy. Tomorrow I also need to study diligently, so I might not be able to help Big Brother drive the carriage as often.”

In the past, Pei Yanci would have responded to these words, but today he couldn’t muster any energy at all. He directly ordered servants to prepare hot water and sent them off to rest.

Opening the door, the interior was dark, but his sharp gaze still captured a vague, familiar silhouette.

His heart suddenly filled.

Tang Xizhui slowly emerged from the depths of the night. The dim yellow lamplight from the corridor outside the door shone through the open doorway in a slanted patch, its endpoints connecting them both.

He slowly paced closer, that soul-stealing, captivating face emerging from its lurking in the darkness, until his figure completely fell into Pei Yanci’s eyes.

Pei Yanci’s heart instead began beating even more rapidly.

His hand gripping the edge of the doorframe tightened further.

A pale hand reached around his side and, brooking no refusal, slowly closed the door behind him.

Inside the room, only the white gauze-covered window let through an ambiguous pale yellow light, outlining a dangerous silhouette.

From beginning to end, those abyss-like dark pupils never left the person before him.

When the two doors still had a few fingers’ width of gap remaining, Tang Xizhui could no longer restrain himself and embraced the person.

As the door completely closed, blocking out the last trace of slightly brighter light source outside, Pei Yanci’s back pressed against the door panel, forced to raise his head, responding to his kiss with difficulty and fervor.

So he and Tang Xizhui had the same thought.

He wanted to go to the Chief Overseer’s mansion, wanted to find him.

Tang Xizhui apparently had the same thought as him.

So he was here, waiting for him to return.

The sound of tearing fabric came from his chest. The usually annoying noise now became an aphrodisiac. A tongue licked from his lips along his chin and neck all the way down, warmly taking his Adam’s apple in its mouth, sucking carefully.

Pei Yanci rolled it up and down unbearably, emitting an ambiguous light hum from his throat.

“Tang Xi……”

Even more frenzied kisses fell on his Adam’s apple, the nape of his neck, licking all the way over his round and soft shoulders, nibbling at his fragile, slender collarbone, leaving traces of ambiguous crimson on the thin skin.

This was a person who belonged to him alone.

Pei Yanci let out a whimper like a small beast. When he opened his eyes again, they were moist as they looked at him, the corners drooping, the light in them shattered into pieces, crying red with grievance.

How could this not drive one mad?

A well-defined arm scooped him up and he was carried horizontally to the bed.

Tang Xizhui’s smooth black hair was only loosely pinned in a low bun at the back of his head, secured with a double-branch plum blossom hairpin. The front of his upper garment was disheveled and open, his black gauze skirt spread open below, the ornamental pendants that young ladies loved to hang at the waist jingling as they fell along with the spread skirt hem onto Pei Yanci’s waist.

A trace of humiliation at being pressed beneath a girl floated up in his heart.

“Take it off, you’re not allowed to wear this.” He covered his burning eyelids with the back of his hand, his face both ashamed and annoyed.

“This servant humbly requests His Majesty to help undress this servant.” Tang Xizhui lightly nibbled his earlobe.

Pei Yanci was confused by the hot breath behind his ear and at his temples, his soft hands could only grope about randomly.

In his daze, Pei Yanci heard the hidden compartment by his bed make a sound, and two unfamiliar objects appeared before his eyes.

A box with a round-bellied bottle of ointment, and something he’d never seen before.

“Know what this is?” Tang Xizhui’s lips pressed against his ear, blowing air into the ear canal.

That voice was as tender as could be, yet his hands kneaded even more ruthlessly.

“Horn……… wait, when did these things appear in my room?” Pei Yanci felt a bit apprehensive and also found it strange.

(TL: could be 角杖 (jiǎo zhàng) or 角梃 (jiǎo tǐng). These were “horn-shaped rods” — objects carved from animal horn (or shaped like one) used in ancient times. They were sometimes referenced in old erotic literature or medical manuals as: private tools, aids for intimacy, objects inserted for stimulation)

The two looked at each other.

Finally, Dugong Daren guiltily looked away.

“You just came—when did you sneak this into my room?”

“Now is not the time to discuss such boring questions.” Tang Xizhui said coquettishly.

“Shall I teach you?”

The light laugh at his neck was extremely enticing. Pei Yanci murmured softly, “Who wants to use that thing?”

Though he said this, his toes still unconsciously curled.

The thing was entirely dark purple, seemingly made from animal horn, with a small tuft of neither-soft-nor-hard animal fur at the front end.

“This, this……” Pei Yanci’s finger touched it, and he immediately shook his head and retreated backward.

Behind him happened to be a cool embrace.

Seeing the person deliver himself into the trap, the Nine-Thousand-Years was no longer polite.

“Ah wu…… Tang Xizhui! You……”

Bastard ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Pei Yanci cried out in alarm, letting out the whimper of a cornered beast, his five fingers digging into the muscles of Tang Xizhui’s back.

The jet-black lashes were dampened into clusters, hanging with crystalline teardrops. Through his hazy tear-filled eyes, he saw that Tang Xizhui’s cold white skin had long since turned burning red, rising with a layer of fine, thin sweat.

“Mm, my fault.”

Tang Xizhui clasped both his hands behind his back, his arm around the waist lifting up the person who was sliding down.

He was panting heavily and urgently, yet trying hard to control himself, with reason still maintaining dominance.

“Does it hurt?” Having gotten a taste, Pei Yanci’s trembling fingers caressed his brow.

Tang Xizhui shook his head, his eyes showing only excited satisfaction.