During Yan Yuan's absence from the palace, the Prime Minister was in charge of the court. Now that he had returned to the palace, it was time he resumed the morning court.
It was after five o'clock and the sky was white as a fish's belly when the eunuch announced in a low voice outside his bedchamber that it was time for Yan Yuan to get up for the morning. Yan Yuan was used to getting up, but he was sleeping soundly with Xuan Long, so he frowned and refused to pay attention to the old eunuch outside. (Angel: 'The sky was white as a fish's belly' means that the sky is bright even though the sun has not yet risen.)
He is only 19 years old, and although he is the emperor of the world, his childishness has not yet receded.
In front of his subjects, he has to stand tall and hide his true emotions in order to gain the trust of others, but in front of those close to him, he has never bothered to hide them.
Seeing that the people outside were in a hurry, Xuan Long gently touched Yan Yuan's hand that was circled around his waist, “A'Yuan."
The voice was mellow and gentle, completely different from Xuan Long's icy appearance. Hearing that, Yan Yuan's anger had mostly subsided, he didn't want to remember it anymore. He opened his eyes reluctantly, hugged Xuan Long's waist and pressed himself close to him, moving over for a passionate, wet kiss.
Xuan Long suffered in silence, his ears quietly tinged with red. He always seemed a bit mute in this regard, and did not know how to respond, for fear of drawing mockery and ridicule, so he simply did not respond and cooperated with Yan Yuan in whatever way he wanted.
The kissing became a little steamy, and the temperature inside the bedchamber gradually rose. Yan Yuan's hand slid all the way down his naked body and stopped between the man's legs, “A'Po, I want to…"
Xuan Long subconsciously separated his legs a little. Although that area was still wounded, he could still bear it.
There was a faint cold fragrance on his body that seemed to be innate, and it smelled particularly soothing. Yan Yuan was already obsessed with Xuan Long's body, and smelling that smell when he was in the mood was even more overwhelming.
Yan Yuan's eyes changed, his fingers…
[Angel: This part was omitted in the post and I wasn't able to find it on Weibo. If anyone knows where I can find it, I will translate it and add it to this chapter, but until then, use your imagination for what took place.]
The first time I saw a man in my arms, I still refused to get up. He used to think that the phrase 'the night is short and the day is high, from now on the king does not go to court in the morning' was too absurd; as an emperor, how could he delay the government because of lust? It was only after he had a taste of it himself that he realised the beauty of it.
In fact, Xuan Long was not his type. He loved Ning Zhiyu; loved his gentleness, loved his soft nature, unlike Xuan Long who was so strong that he did not need protection.
Ning Zhiyu was different. As the son of the Prime Minister's concubine, it was because of his protection that he was able to live out his life in peace. Men will always be protective of the weak, and besides, Ning Zhiyu had been his lover in his previous life.
Yan Yuan had once promised to be with Ning Zhiyu for the rest of his life, but now that he had broken his promise, he often felt guilty. And yet he could not help himself from having fun with Xuan Long, so he reassured himself that it was all just to achieve his goal.
Thinking this way made him feel better and his guilt lessened significantly. He wrapped his arms around Xuan Long's waist and looked at the man's handsome, cold features, asking, “A'Po, why do you always have to wear a mask? It's too much of a nuisance, so take it off."
Xuan Long paused, his voice a little hoarse from the affair he had just had, "My face is ugly, it will scare you."
"It won't." Yan Yuan said as he reached out to remove the dark golden bronze mask from his face.
Just as he touched it, Xuan Long clasped his wrist and turned his head to look at him quietly.
Xuan Long stared at him for a moment, turned his head to look at the bright yellow tent above him, and only after a long time did he say calmly, "Mother has disliked me since I was a child, because of my ugly appearance."
"All beings in the world are repulsed by the sight of me, but you are the only one who does not hate me."
"I am afraid that if you see my real face, you will not like me anymore."
Yan Yuan didn't expect Xuan Long to be so sensitive at heart despite his cold exterior, so he was stunned for a moment and spoke without thinking, "I promise, no matter what you become, A'Po will be A'Po, and my love for you will never change."
Xuan Long couldn't help but look at Yan Yuan, whose peach blossom eyes were as warm as water and full of sincerity.
Yan Yuan slowly extended his hand over to him, and he did not dodge.
The dark gold mask, engraved with ancient Sanskrit inscriptions, was finally removed. Even though Yan Yuan was mentally prepared, he could not help but draw a cold breath when he saw Xuan Long's full face.
Looking only at the left side of his face, he was handsome and cold, with a straight nose, which was an excellent appearance. But on the right side of his face was a horrific, palm-sized scar, which was raised and a purple-red colour, with twisted growths like centipedes on top, which almost ruined all beauty.
Yan Yuan didn't feel that it was ugly, he just felt an unexplained gnawing pain in his heart, gnawing away as if his soul was tearing up, making him feel the urge to cry, "How could this happen?…"
"Maybe it's because I did something wrong in my previous life and it left marks on my face." Compared to Yan Yuan, Xuan Long himself was quite indifferent.
“A’Po, my heart aches for you." Yan Yuan reached out and embraced the man.
Xuan Long curved his lips lightly and whispered, "If you don't dislike it, I have no fear."
With the rest of the people, he was indifferent.
It was only Yan Yuan.
After looking at him, Xuan Long put the mask back on. Even if Yan Yuan didn't mind, he was afraid that the other party would get tired of looking at his face.
Seeing that the sun was getting hotter and hotter outside, and that it would be unreasonable to stay away any longer, Yan Yuan called the eunuchs outside to come in and help him put on his dragon robe, then spoke to the dragon inside the bright yellow tent, “A'Po, I have to go to court, I will be back at midday to accompany you for lunch."
“En." A low male voice came from within the tent, causing the grand eunuch to become more and more curious as to what kind of person could make Yan Yuan so obsessed that he even missed the morning court and called himself 'I' in front of him.
After putting on the dragon robe and the crown, Yan Yuan hurriedly had to leave, but stopped after a few steps and turned back to say, “A'Po, the dragon scales…"
Ning Zhiyu's body couldn't wait another day.
"I'll give them to you at midday." The pain of pulling out the scales was nothing when Xuan Long thought of the warmth he felt just now.