SEHE Extra 2

State Affairs

Pei Yanci had originally earned the admiration of the entire court by suppressing the rebellion of the vassal princes. Even after the change of dynasty and the succession of the throne, he had not made things difficult for the surviving members of the Gu family. Combined with the puppet shows periodically staged at the theaters for publicity, these measures had won him a fine reputation.

However, there were always old ministers who presumed on their seniority, always former Gu family loyalists scheming to persuade Gu Wanchong and Gu Yisui to restore the Great Yu dynasty, and always plenty of people who outwardly complied, singing his praises while privately waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

To put it simply: he was young and easy to manipulate — they refused to submit to his direction!

The Great Tao had just been founded, with everything in need of rebuilding. When he spoke of attacking Great Xi while internal troubles had not yet been resolved, the entire court had opposed it at the time. It was only through Pei Yanci’s insistence against all opposition, supported by Gu Wanchong and Tangxi Zhui, that the campaign could be launched.

As it turned out, Pei Yanci had been right.

He personally led the campaign, sweeping through the capital with the speed of thunder before one could cover one’s ears. Morale soared. Every soldier and general in the army revered him as a god, calling the gunpowder and firearms divine instruments for vanquishing enemies. The people of the realm all submitted, calling him a divine dragon descended from heaven.

The surrender of Great Xi proved even more valuable than many in the court had imagined.

From then on, in this court, only Pei Yanci’s voice would be heard — and for managing internal governance, this was an indispensable factor.

A decree, however wise and effective, still had to be carried out.

Pei Yanci sat firmly upon his throne. The territory of the Great Tao stretched a million li in all directions — his reach could not extend everywhere. There was no shortage of those in counties, townships, and villages who paid lip service while acting otherwise. They had to revere him before they would willingly obey his commands.

The unification of Great Xi was the most powerful demonstration of his authority and capability.

Striking while the iron was hot, Pei Yanci spent several consecutive days eating and sleeping in Ganchen Palace, deliberating urgently with the court ministers. More than twenty decrees were issued in rapid succession.

As a result, the plan he had originally agreed upon with Tangxi Zhui — to visit the western mountains for the summer for a retreat— could only be reluctantly set aside.

In the imperial garden, a certain Dugong Daren tossed a memorial onto the table with barely concealed irritation.

“What are you doing — hold it properly and read it.” A clear, bright voice came from beside him.

Tangxi Zhui’s face wore an expression of mild displeasure. Not daring to make a scene, he grudgingly picked the memorial back up from where he had just thrown it.

“You already had enough to keep you busy with just the Great Yu territory. Now you’ve taken back Great Xi on top of it — you might as well work yourself to death.”

“There are bound to be many affairs to attend to right after a dynasty is founded. It’ll ease up after a while, and I’ll definitely spend time with you.”

“You said the same thing last winter,” Tangxi Zhui’s eyes curved with sarcasm. “And then you took Qi Lan and Wang Lingche and headed north.”

It was precisely because he had left him in Anjing City without taking him along that Pei Yanci had been hearing his complaints ever since returning from the north.

“You’re ungrateful. Zhen hurried back to the capital ahead of time at the end of that year specifically to spend New Year’s with you,” Pei Yanci said.

That had been the first Spring Festival since he became Emperor — it held great significance, and he had wanted to celebrate it together with him.

“During the New Year’s — instead of keeping me company, were you going to spend it with that blockhead Wang Lingche?” Tangxi Zhui suddenly had a flash of insight. Why had he ever been guarding against that bookworm Wang Lingche? “During those days when the Great Xi envoys entered the capital for the surrender ceremony, Qi Lan was busy attending to you from morning to night. The way he looked at you was not ordinary.”

“Where is this jealousy coming from now? Don’t go too far,” Pei Yanci said with stern reproof.

Seeing him like this, Tangxi Zhui knew he wasn’t truly angry. Growing bold in his favor, he smiled sweetly with a blade hidden beneath, “Stay away from that bastard Qi Lan, you hear me? Be careful or I’ll—”

“You’re getting above yourself — are you actually going to assassinate the reigning Son of Heaven?!” Pei Yanci slapped the table.

What emperor didn’t have a three-palace six-courtyard? Who was as wretched as him — to this day he had yet to even touch the hand of another man.

“Has this lord not assassinated Your Majesty plenty of times already?” Tangxi Zhui said smugly.

“…”

“Does Your Majesty not enjoy this lord’s assassinations?”

“…Silence.” Pei Yanci’s ears slowly turned red. He looked left and right, then waved away the cluster of palace servants attending nearby, ordering them to stand guard at every path and entrance ahead.

This person had no filter — he still had his dignity to consider.

He ostentatiously picked up a document to read, fooling no one.

A scent of musk and spice washed over him. Tangxi Zhui had moved from across the table to sit beside Pei Yanci. “Your Majesty, am I better to look at, or are these memorials?”

This damn fox spirit of a man.

Pei Yanci’s hand was seized by him and guided toward his own gaunt, pale cheek. The back of the hand drifted further downward, tracing along his neck, nudging aside a corner of the overlapping collar, fingertips brushing his collarbone — where there was still a tooth mark left several days ago, nearly healed by now.

“There are still many affairs today…”

Before he could finish speaking, his entire person had been deposited into Tangxi Zhui’s lap.

Tangxi Zhui wrapped his arms around him from behind and opened a memorial, his cheek nuzzling against the warm tender flesh of Pei Yanci’s neck. “This one is the latest update on the flooding in Jiangnan — Zhang Dongqin has already settled the disaster victims and opened more than a dozen porridge relief stations.”

“This one is a congratulatory message from the Lingnan Circuit — this year’s lychee harvest has been excellent. Thirty-five baskets will be dispatched by eight-hundred-li express courier tomorrow.”

A rough tongue licked across his flushed earlobe; sharp teeth nibbled at it with meticulous delicacy, causing the body beneath the imperial robes to shudder violently, and a low moan escaped from those vermilion lips.

No lychee could possibly taste this sweet.

“Zhen must attend to state affairs…” The hands holding the memorial on the stone table were trembling ever so slightly.

“Your Majesty, this lord never said you couldn’t.” Tangxi Zhui’s hand moved slowly downward, deftly lifting the hem of the robe, slipping inside. “This lord just helped you read through quite a few just now — how will Your Majesty thank this lord?”

Something that felt like ice-cold skin struck below the waist and abdomen. Pei Yanci instinctively tried to bolt to his feet, but the arm wrapped around his waist held him firmly in place, and he tumbled back onto those thighs.

“You haven’t kept me company for several days.” Tangxi Zhui coaxed in a spoiled tone.

“Those old men are full of archaic platitudes — can any of them match my charm and perception?”

“Don’t be too audacious — we are in the imperial garden,” Pei Yanci said, his entire face flushing red.

Warmth and body heat slowly enveloped that hand. His body gradually succumbed to sensation, growing increasingly helpless against it.

“Your Majesty, focus on handling state affairs,” Tangxi Zhui said, watching his gaze grow increasingly unfocused. He extended his left hand and picked up a fresh memorial.

“Oh my, this one is from the Ministry of Revenue and the Court of Agricultural Affairs.”

“Let Zhen see.” Pei Yanci immediately tried to snatch it back upon hearing that — ever since Gu Yisui had ascended to the throne, he had been intent on beginning to address the land problem.

Tangxi Zhui shifted the memorial-holding hand away, and his other hand gave a light squeeze. Pei Yanci’s body immediately went soft.

“You…” He was both flustered and furious.

“This lord will read it aloud for Your Majesty.” Those blood-red lips drew close to his ear, and he truly began reading, word by word.

Pei Yanci could hardly take in a single word. His hand kept reaching down to clutch at the arm of the hand wreaking havoc beneath the table, yet he could not stop it in the slightest. His body went rigid; he could not help but tilt his head back, leaning entirely against the chest of the person behind him.

“Tangxi… don’t…”

“Your Majesty, regarding the proposals raised by the Ministry of Revenue and the results they described — how do you wish to reply?”

Tears welled in his eyes, reddening his eyelids. He struggled to recall — it had seemed to say that they had developed a method for enriching the soil. Previously it had taken eight to ten years to transform barren land into fertile soil; now it required only three to five years, cutting the time in half.

“It really needs on-site field surveys… mm… first have them… go to the northwest and designate a stretch of wasteland to put it into practice… ah…uwu…” Pei Yanci’s body tried pitiably to curl in on itself, only to clench all the more tightly around that hand.

Truly unfocused — even in this state, he still had attention to spare for other matters.

“Relax, Your Majesty — handling state affairs requires composure.” Tangxi Zhui stroked his arching back soothingly, yet his large, narrow eyes had also taken on a hazy, intoxicating gleam, like a man-eating flower demon. “Your Majesty’s words just now — this lord did not hear clearly. Why doesn’t Your Majesty write the annotation yourself?”

With that, he handed him the brush for vermilion annotations.

Pei Yanci’s trembling hand took hold of the writing brush. He had no strength left to write and, not having the heart to ruin the memorial, simply pushed it forward.

“If Your Majesty won’t annotate it, then accompany this lord back to the bedchamber to rest.”

“Tangxi, there truly are many state affairs today…”

“Your Majesty may speak — this lord is listening, and will annotate on your behalf.”

“Don’t want… uwu…” He choked back a sob, his whole body tormented beyond endurance. He wanted it over quickly, yet could not bring himself to let go of those pending affairs.

“Don’t want~” Tangxi Zhui drew out those words, twisting and turning them in his mouth, utterly tormenting to the heart.

Pei Yanci’s legs kicked out weakly, as if trying to shake something off.

“There are still several dozen memorials left today — Your Majesty must persevere until then.” Tangxi Zhui said softly with a low laugh.

“I can’t — it’ll be unbearable to hold on…” Pei Yanci pushed against his arm. Clearly he was nearly at the edge, the pressure of it making him unbearably pent up.

“Stop fooling around… Zhen will come find you as soon as the affairs are handled… all right?” Pei Yanci pleaded, nestled against him with teary eyes.

“Truly?” Tangxi Zhui laughed with delight. “What if you can’t manage it?”

“Tonight you may do as you please with Zhen.”

Tangxi Zhui knew he simply could not let go. The movements of his hand grew faster and more urgent. Before long, Pei Yanci’s body went languid and limp.

Still in a daze, the person behind him had already cleaned him up and set him back on the stone bench.

He gave a lazy yawn. His body had broken out in a light sweat, sticky and clammy all over — especially inside his inner trousers. Though they had been cleaned, there was still a warm, humid feeling.

Tangxi Zhui tucked the handkerchief away and tidied the scattered memorials on the table, taking away the document that had been pushed toward him.

“Where are you going — won’t you stay here and keep Zhen company?” Pei Yanci asked, puzzled.

“Gu Wanchong has been waiting outside the imperial garden for quite some time.” Seeing his expression stiffen slightly, Tangxi Zhui offered a considerate reassurance, “Don’t worry, Xiao Pei’er — he couldn’t hear any of the commotion.”

“However —” his gaze lingered over the somewhat crumpled imperial robes, and he flashed a smug, cunning smile— “it seems Xiao Pei’er must go meet his former flame while still bearing the warmth this lord has left behind.”

The thought of it made his eyes gleam with ever-growing excitement.