And in the rear hall, beside the bath
The moment the two fell into the water, the ten burly men turned their backs in unison with a crisp "swish."
Eyes focused on their noses, noses on their mouths, mouths on their hearts—uniform and disciplined, solemn expressions, muscles taut, exuding an air of military precision.
But Jing Xuan had no time to notice this, his eyes slightly red as he glared at Gu Fang, snapping.
"Hold back? Hold back what?! You call this holding back when you still slammed into me so hard?! You deserve to die a thousand times over!"
He truly was in pain.
When he fell, his only thought had been 'If I’m going down, I’m dragging Gu Fang with me.'
But the moment the water touched his skin, he belatedly realized what a disastrous move that was.
Panicked, he tried to push Gu Fang away, but in their struggle, they both lost control and his back crashed straight into the jade bath’s edge.
Jing Xuan had always been afraid of pain.
From childhood, his delicate looks had earned him endless pampering.
Though he had suffered setbacks in court politics in daily life from his parents to the lowest servants, even that shameless Gu Fang, all had spoiled him with the best of everything.
As a result, he was soft-skinned, bruised easily, and at the slightest pain, his eyes welled with tears.
So this harsh collision brought back his childish temper.
And Gu Fang, seemingly by habit, reached out to check his back, his voice low and gentle.
"Let me see."
Then,
Just as Gu Fang’s fingers were about to touch Jing Xuan’s collar.
Both of them froze.
"....."
"....."
They weren’t in that kind of relationship!
Jing Xuan’s ears and neck flushed red, and he shoved Gu Fang away.
But Gu Fang smoothly caught him instead, wrapping an arm around his waist, gripping his wrist.
"Your Majesty, Minister Jiang Yue is still outside."
The moment he spoke, a furious commotion erupted beyond the hall.
"Let me in!"
"I must see for myself if there is truly someone like Deng Tong or Dong Xian leading His Majesty astray, neglecting court affairs and refusing to take an empress!"
"If not, then His Majesty should dispel the rumors and take an empress at once!"
Minister Jiang Yue’s righteous fury, along with Fu Chang’s anxious attempts to stop him, pressed ever closer to the rear hall.
Jing Xuan had no time to hesitate and immediately raised his voice.
"Insolence! I am still bathing and changing, how dare Minister Jiang Yue force his way in?!"
The ten burly men by the bath immediately sank into a horse stance, spreading their arms wide.
With a resounding "Ha!", they formed a towering human wall.
Minister Jiang Yue was so shocked that he stumbled back.
"T-These… These are the ten male beauties Prince Ding gifted to His Majesty?!"
Turning to Fu Chang, he asked in horror.
Fu Chang had just opened his mouth when Minister Jiang Yue cut him off with an enraged shout.
"Ridiculous! His Majesty has always favored refined and elegant things, how could he possibly be interested in… in these?!"
"I know His Majesty does not wish to take an empress, but to make such absurd claims just to delay it where does this leave the dignity of the imperial household?!"
He was nothing like that old fossil Hua Song, who actually got so enraged by this brat’s lousy acting that he fainted!
Minister Jiang Yue had never once believed the rumors about Jing Xuan and Gu Fang’s so-called preference for men. So now, his words rang with unexpected righteousness and unwavering integrity.
Frightened, Fu Chang hurriedly said,
"Oh goodness Minister Jiang Yue what are you saying? You know His Majesty better than anyone he only likes delicate and refined things! So these ten are just… well, ten. The real beauty is behind them right, Your Majesty? Right, Beauty Fang?"
Jing Xuan: "...."
Oh now you decide to be clever?!
The whole reason he kicked all these muscle-bound giants into the rear hall was because this was his personal bathing and resting quarters.
As long as he made the right suggestive sounds with these so-called "beauties" around, it would spark wild imaginations and drive Minister Jiang Yue away in disgust.
But he never expected that the suggestive sounds would happen, the imagination would run wild yet the ‘beauty’ would end up being Gu Fang.
His first instinct was to refute it immediately.
"I...!"
However before he could finish, a sudden, tingling pressure landed at his lower back.
His entire body tilted forward, and a sharp yet helpless whimper slipped from his lips.
Jing Xuan: "...."
Minister Jiang Yue: "....."
The two women in the main hall currently covering Jing Yi’s eyes, mouth and nose: "....."
Realizing what had happened, Jing Xuan’s face instantly turned bright red. He lifted his head wanting to curse but with Minister Jiang Yue still outside, he could only glare furiously.
The culprit however remained completely unbothered. He simply rubbed his fingers over Jing Xuan’s waist and spoke in a deliberately slow voice, just loud enough for the two of them to hear.
"This minister merely wished to help His Majesty put on a more convincing act. Otherwise, wouldn’t all of His Majesty’s efforts to slander himself go to waste?"
His eyelids lowered slightly, his deep eyes calm, his tone unhurried and casual, as if he were truly just conducting official business.
Jing Xuan however bit his lip hard feeling utterly trapped and uncomfortable.
By any standard, he was already considered tall and lean, with a body both agile and strong. But Gu Fang stood a full half a head taller than him, and years spent on the battlefield had honed a lethal, commanding presence that Jing Xuan, spoiled by a life of luxury simply could not compare to.
As a result, even though Gu Fang’s hold on his waist was entirely relaxed, it still made Jing Xuan seem like a fragile bird trapped in a gilded cage, delicate and utterly defenseless.
So when Gu Fang lowered his gaze slightly to look at him, his eyes still dark and indifferent as always, Jing Xuan nonetheless felt an overwhelming sense of being completely seen, heated from the inside out.
The warm water of the pool had long since seeped through his thin silk robes, allowing him to feel every inch of the other man’s skin against his own.
Hot. Firm. Unyielding.
This man always draped himself in thick robes, feigning illness with that ever-present cloak, yet who would have thought he was actually built like this?!
For a moment, Jing Xuan couldn’t tell whether his current emotions leaned more toward mortified fury or the primal instinct of male rivalry and competition.
Either way, both made him want to strangle Gu Fang on the spot.
But at this moment, they were still tied together on the same sinking ship.
So Jing Xuan could only grit his teeth and hiss through them
"What slander? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Every word I’ve spoken is the absolute truth!"
He tried his best to sound fierce and imposing, his tone brimming with righteous indignation.
Yet his face, already bright and stunning by nature, only became even more breathtaking due to his flustered anger.
His naturally captivating peach blossom eyes shimmered at the edges with a deep blush, his lips, bitten too hard, gleamed a shade of raw crimson.
The silken robes, soaked completely through, clung to his skin, outlining his elegant collarbones and the delicate curves of his shoulder blades, disappearing into the water’s depths.
Only the pale, slender column of his throat remained exposed, adorned with a tiny scarlet mole.
Fragile. Exquisite. Yet trembling with defiant pride.
Like a rose blooming in the western gardens, its petals edged with thorns, captivatingly poised at the moment before full bloom, tempting fate to pluck it.
Gu Fang had seen this very image in his dreams countless times, but even so, now that it was truly before his eyes, he still found himself momentarily entranced.
For the briefest second, he wondered
At what point had that porcelain-faced child, once always clinging to him, grown into something this devastatingly beautiful?
The corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly, his expression turning almost amused.
"If that’s the truth," he murmured lazily, "then allow this minister to help Your Majesty prove it today."
Jing Xuan: "?"
Before he could even process what Gu Fang meant, the other man’s left hand had already curled around his chin, thumb pressing lightly against the corner of his lips
And then, just like that, he leaned in.
The scent of wintry plum blossoms, a fragrance laced with something sharp like the crisp bite of the cold, descended upon him, utterly inescapable.
Jing Xuan’s eyes flew wide open in alarm, his entire body going stiff as a board, his breath catching in his throat, completely forgotten.
Until those thin, cool lips stopped just a hair’s breadth away from his own.
Phoenix eyes lifted, gazing at him with idle amusement.
"His Majesty didn’t even try to dodge."
Only then did Jing Xuan snap back to reality.
Damn damn damn !!! Gu Fang, this beast!!!
He panicked and tried to struggle free.
However, by now, the scene had already been cast onto the silk-paneled screen beside the bath by the flickering long-burning lanterns.
And standing right before that screen, having just been pulled over by Fu Chang.
Minister Jiang Yue: "....."
"Your Majesty! Just because you refuse to take an empress, how could you commit such acts of debauchery in broad daylight?!"
His voice was filled with grief and outrage, no longer even the slightest bit concealed.
Jing Xuan was desperately trying to explain.
"I— I didn’t— I’ll fix this right away— mmph."
But he was completely trapped in Gu Fang’s arms, struggling uselessly no matter how much he tried.
And then, from above, a voice that sounded both familiar and unfamiliar drifted down.
"Your Majesty, this concubine think some things cannot be fixed so quickly."
If one listened closely, they could make out a slight resemblance to Gu Fang’s usual voice.
But normally, Gu Fang was always upright and dignified, standing like an unshakable mountain, moving like frost and treading like snow.
His voice was clear and cold, crisp as shattered jade, carrying an innate sense of distance.
A simple, indifferent "This prince" was usually enough to strike fear into the hearts of the entire court.
So no one had ever heard him speak in such a lazy, languid tone, laced with the hazy warmth of ambiguous emotions.
Let alone refer to himself so tenderly as 'this concubine.'
Even Fu Chang, who knew the truth from start to finish, found himself completely stunned for a moment.
This… this… this…
Who is this?!
Could it be… His Majesty really has been hiding a male vixen inside the Zichen Hall?!
And that wasn’t even mentioning Minister Jiang Yue, who was completely in the dark.
If rumors could be false, then what about…
The scene right in front of his eyes?!
"If Minister Jiang Yue finds himself growing too restless from waiting," the male vixen’s voice drawled lazily once more,
"this concubine would be more than happy to introduce you to a few like-minded friends so that you may share in His Majesty’s pleasure."
Minister Jiang Yue: "....."
Share in His Majesty’s pleasure?
Share in His Majesty’s pleasure.
Share in His Majesty’s pleasure?!
Having spent his entire life playing the role of a righteous minister, Minister Jiang Yue only realized the full implications of those four words after a long delay.
And in that moment, his vision went black, his head spun, and he could barely remain standing.
But before he could collapse completely, from within the rear hall, Jing Xuan still anxiously struggling to explain himself landed the final blow.
"Nonsense! Minister Jiang Yue is already nearing fifty! His body—his household has to keep him standing with tiger whips and deer blood every day! If you introduce him to any friends, how will he even survive?!"
"I— I— I…"
"My body is in excellent health!"
"I do NOT need tiger whips and deer blood every day to stay upright!!!"
Minister Jiang Yue had always prided himself on his dignity and composure, but never in his life had he been subjected to such blatant, outrageous humiliation.
And when he remembered that he was still planning to marry his daughter off to this licentious, depraved emperor, his chest tightened so violently that he could only clutch at his heart, barely holding on with the last shred of stubbornness keeping him from collapsing on the spot.
Seeing this, Fu Chang rushed to steady him, helping him back into the main hall.
"Minister Jiang Yue, don’t be angry! Don’t be angry! If you fall ill from this, our entire Great Yan would suffer the loss!"
Jiang Yingxue also hurried forward, grabbing hold of her father in alarm.
"Father, don’t be angry! Don’t be angry! If you fall ill, the household concubines will have to fetch even more tiger whips and deer blood! Their monthly stipends can’t afford it!"
Even Grand Consort without hesitation, pressed her hands firmly over Jing Yue’s entire head.
"Yes, yes, cousin, don’t be angry! Don’t be angry! His Majesty only cares about your health! If you’re running low, why not take some of the finest deer blood from my stores before you leave?"
Minister Jiang Yue’s fingers trembled uncontrollably.
"You— you— you— you all…!"
"Summon the imperial physician! At once!"