From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 156: The Veil of War

Chapter 156: The Veil of War

The sun setting over the hunting grounds painted the boundless grass in a rich golden hue. The air was fresher than back in the capital and it was cooler here too, the soothing winds sending the colourful flags over the erected tents billowing.

Instead of being led over to the tents designated for the inner palace, Yan Zheyun disembarked from the carriage to find Head Eunuch Cao waiting for him with an affable twinkle in his eyes.

During the journey over, Liu Yao had sent an invite over for Yan Zheyun to join him in the dragon carriage but Yan Zheyun had been fast asleep then and Xiao De had been instructed not to wake him if this were the case. Hua Zhixuan had teased him about it after, saying that it was unprecedented for a concubine’s nap to remain uninterrupted when summoned to attend to the emperor’s needs and Yan Zheyun had just smiled in response.

There was no need to say it was because Liu Yao and he doted on each other as spouses should. He’d taught the phrase "feeding another dog food1" to Hua Zhixuan a while ago to tease him about his behaviour around Yao Siya and his adorable best friend, ever one to adopt new slang enthusiastically, had taken it upon himself to retaliate in kind.

"This consort thanks Head Eunuch Cao for his escorting." The dragon tent was situated right in the middle of the encampment, towering tall and majestic over the rest, and only a stone’s throw away from the inner palace tents to facilitate convenience should the emperor choose to flip any tablets that evening. Yan Zheyun could have found his way over without assistance but his relationship with Head Eunuch Cao was one borne out of unnecessary niceties and protecting the precious man they both cared for.

"Yue Langjun is too polite, it is this old servant’s honour to assist you." Head Eunuch Cao was in a visibly upbeat mood and Yan Zheyun pointed it out with good cheer.

"Cao Gonggong is pleased to be out of the palace?"

Head Eunuch Cao let out a hearty chuckle. "This servant has long called the palace his home and has no desire to leave it in search of greener pastures. But seeing His Majesty free of the cages of the imperial city and indulging in a breath of fresh air, even if this trip were rife with danger...it’s like a balm to this servant’s old heart."

Some of the sentiments Head Eunuch Cao expressed in front of Yan Zheyun could at best be considered an overstep of boundaries and at worst an insult to the imperial family. But Yan Zheyun knew that Head Eunuch Cao was honest with him because they had a mutual trust between them to do good by Liu Yao.

He was aware that in the past, this closest servant of the emperor was wary of him, concerned that he would be the cataclysmic disaster that shook the stability of Liu Yao’s reign.

When had Head Eunuch Cao’s opinion of him changed?

"Did His Majesty rest well during the journey?"

"Adequately. Yue Langjun’s concern for His Majesty’s wellbeing is touching." Head Eunuch Cao led him up the pathway towards the grand entrance of the dragon tent and bowed him in before following suit, Xiao De a couple of paces behind them. This was a familiar sight for anyone living in the inner palace and would soon be one that the other ministers and their families saw throughout the trip too; Imperial Noble Consort Yue being escorted by the Head Eunuch Cao, with his closest servant bringing up the rear.

"A refreshing bath and a change of clothes have been prepared for Langjun. There will be adequate time for a nap before the evening banquet."

Yan Zheyun was led behind a series of elaborate folding screens, elegantly painted with depictions of a hunt. Due to the imperial examinations earlier in the year, the spring hunt had been cancelled. This was his first time attending and although a part of him didn’t approve of the idea of hunting for sport–even if Liu Yao had assured him that they would eat the animals after...–the city boy in him, who had grown up amidst a concrete jungle, was excited to be out here experiencing the wilderness.

This was nothing like a quick camping trip with a couple of classmates after finals.

The bath water was ladened with flower petals and ordinarily, Yan Zheyun would have turned his nose up at it and fished them out one by one, mostly because they reminded him of scenes in his mother’s harem dramas where the beauty prepares to meet the emperor. It made his eye twitch and Liu Yao, who was aware that he didn’t appreciate powdering and perfuming himself like a prize, had never pushed for it either.

Today, though, after hours spent smelling horse manure–one of the less glamorous aspects of travelling in ancient times that no scriptwriter felt the need to add to any drama episode–he was more than happy to replace that stench with the clean scent of the the ’mandarin duck lotus1’, which, to Yan Zheyun’s great confusion, was not, in fact, a lotus but a cultivated rare chrysanthemum that had red petals on one half and gold on the other.

To envy the mandarin ducks and not the celestials.

"Is Ah Yun more comfortable now?"

Only one person would be able to enter the dragon tent unannounced. Yan Zheyun scooped up the long, slender petals in his hands, watching how they intertwined around each other like the necks of canoodling mandarin ducks, loathing to be separated. He let the water trickle past his fingers before glancing up archly at Liu Yao, who sat on the edge of the wooden tub with an appreciative grin. Gone were the days when the emperor of Great Ye put on a mask of solemnity in front of him. Instead, that intimidating presence had been replaced with this charming young man, who confirmed for Yan Zheyun daily that he was very much gay indeed.

Sometimes, Yan Zheyun saw how free-spirited Liu Yao was meant to be and it hurt to see him teetered to that golden throne in invisible chains, feared and envied by the ignorant masses, none of whom were aware that should Liu Yao have been more selfish, less responsible, he would have upped and vanished a long time ago. With all the politicking that Liu Yao had to manoeuvre with a court that attempted to manipulate him for their gain and a populace that might one day turn against him should they misunderstand his intention, Yan Zheyun was tired on his behalf.

It’s cold in high places. 1

A warm hand slid down his neck, tracing along the elegant curve of his collarbones before dipping beneath the water suggestively. A second later, Yan Zheyun gasped and reached up to grasp up the fingers plucking lightly at the pink bud of his nipple, already hard like a small pebble just from the mild teasing.

"I was comfortable before Your Majesty intervened," he quipped, although there was little heat in his soft protest when Liu Yao’s hands travelled further down to wrap around his waist before he was tugged into a firm embrace. "Your sleeves are getting wet."

"Mm, but this sovereign has missed his Ah Yun." A rough palm glided over Yan Zheyun’s supple thigh before grasping suddenly, eliciting a hitch in his breath.

"Ah Yao, not now, the banquet won’t wait." He used to shoulder to gently try and push Liu Yao off but a wet mouth sucked at a particularly sensitive spot just behind his ear and he felt his resistance crumbling in the wake of Liu Yao’s attentiveness. "I haven’t washed there yet—"

"Don’t worry, just relax, I promise I won’t put it in," Liu Yao murmured, his voice taking on that familiar huskiness that Yan Zheyun associated with arousal. "I couldn’t bear to tire Ah Yun out before a long evening...especially since sitting down would become inconvenient after too much use of Ah Yun’s—"

It was like Liu Yao had disposed of his sense of shame right after their nuptial night. Yan Zheyun reached up behind him to wrap a white, slender arm around Liu Yao’s neck and pull him down for a forceful kiss.

The only way to shut up an emperor without getting punished for it.

"Should I take note of anything for later on?" he panted out after a long moment that had been punctuated only by his increasingly wanton moans, which he had to bite his lip to hold in since the tents weren’t exactly soundproof. It hadn’t taken him long to come into Liu Yao’s hand, limp with satiation as he’d let Liu Yao fish him out of the tub and wrap him up in a large sheet before carrying him over to the divan in front of the makeshift dragon bed.

True to his word, Liu Yao hadn’t delved any deeper after getting him off, just tucked himself closely behind Yan Zheyun like a big, extremely handsy spoon. He could feel Liu Yao’s hardness pressing against his soft flesh and rubbed back against it to see if Liu Yao wanted to take things further—it didn’t take that much to make Yan Zheyun cave—but a firm grip on his hips anchored him into place and he felt Liu Yao shift away from the heated contact.

"Don’t tempt me now," Liu Yao’s voice was dangerously low. He leaned over to press his forehead against the nape of Yan Zheyun’s neck and breathe in his scent. Yan Zheyun could feel him shifting behind before the hot breathing against his skin turned ragged. A flush spread across his cheeks when he realised what Liu Yao was doing.

"Your Majesty doesn’t require this concubine’s assistance?" He shuddered when Liu Yao bit down lightly on the slope of his shoulder.

"Just stay where you are. That’s a good boy."

Good boy. Before transmigrating over and falling from the top of the social hierarchy, Yan Zheyun had never had a chance to discover that he might have a bit of a...submissive kink. Granted, he’d never had the time to explore his sexuality thoroughly but previously, if someone had told him that being praised would send a shot of molten lava through his veins to pool in the pit of his stomach, he would have complimented them on their amazing sense of imagination.

Now, he had to stop himself from begging to be fucked.

"Enjoy while we can," Liu Yao was muttering against the side of his throat, greedy lips chasing after his thunderous pulse. "There will be little peace for the rest of this hunt."

That unexpectedly pessimistic foretelling aided Yan Zheyun in recovering some of his sensibilities from the fog of lust. "Because of the northern envoys?"

Liu Yao didn’t reply until he’d finished up, careful to avoid getting any of his seed on Yan Zheyun’s body. He let out a contented sigh before answering the question that had lingered on in the air that was now musky with the scent of their desire.

"Zhang Xiu does not believe the northern tribes are submitting genuinely to the empire," Liu Yao said. "I’m inclined to agree. I’ve received news from the border that the tribes might have retreated from the warfront but the amount of food they’re hoarding has not diminished from the level of wartime rations."

"Could that not be for self-defence purposes?"

Liu Yao nodded. "Possibly, because they do not trust us to honour a peace treaty. However, when it comes to diplomacy, especially as the weaker party, one must often put on a show of sincerity to be convincing." His gaze hardened. "It appears that our northern neighbours do not even deign to try."

Yan Zheyun might have read the ’Art of War’ before but if there was one aspect of life in ancient times that he could not comprehend, it was how close the prospect of war was. Not to say that the modern world was completely harmonious but he only realised just how privileged he was to live in peace after seeing the threat of unrest shroud Great Ye like a funeral veil. Thin enough that those who wished to remain in denial could see right through it but thick enough that it painted the future in bleak colours. He’d assumed in the past that the culmination of this unrest would be a civil war, on a hidden battlefront masked beneath the opulence of Great Ye’s capital.

But now it seemed like he’d been more naive than he’d thought.

"What is Envoy Zhang’s recommendation then?" He was aware that there was no love lost between Envoy Zhang and himself but this man was Liu Yao’s childhood friend; the only living one left. Yan Zheyun was happy to turn a blind eye to the malcontent and resentment Envoy Zhang could barely conceal in front of him as long as he served Liu Yao’s best interests.

"To observe their behaviour during the hunt." Liu Yao traced a line down Yan Zheyun’s spine idly. "Ah Yun, stay close to me during this trip, all right? I fear for you." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Yan Zheyun’s heart melted at that. Liu Yao had so much on his plate but still had room to care for more. "I won’t give you cause to worry," he promised. "But you must assure me that you don’t do anything reckless either."

"Cao Mingbao, Yao Siya and Great General Pan are all responsible for overseeing our safety. There’s no one else that I trust more than them."

Great General Pan. The mention of him made Yan Zheyun uneasy but not because he suspected the man capable of betrayal. There was no question of his loyalty, at least not from what Yan Zheyun could see. But although Lixin’s regaling of the plot felt like an aeon ago, he could still remember parts of it even if he hadn’t dared to commit those fragmented pieces down in writing for fear of discovery.

But he recalled—or rather, couldn’t forget—that in the original novel, Liu Yao had died to make way for the fourth prince’s ascension. And that this death had occurred on the battlefield. That the late emperor before Liu Wei’s reign had been lost at war, and his body never recovered.

That unease slowly morphed into a cold dread that stole into Yan Zheyun’s blood and turned it into ice. He’d been so busy trying to help Liu Yao manage the infighting between the nobility and the sovereign that he’d overlooked the war on the borderlands, especially after the news that Great General Pan’s successive victories had put an end to the endless skirmishes that plagued their kingdom’s north.

But now, he couldn’t help but be confronted by a dark thought; in what situation would an emperor have to stand at the helm in battle? Liu Yao was a skilled general himself, a young war god that had earned the esteem of his people at a tender age. But he was also the son of heaven. No morning court worth its weight would allow him to leave the capital with an outside threat right on their doorstep.

Unless...there was no other choice. No one else who could lead the charge.

What had happened to Great General Pan? How about the other military commanders?

"Ah Yun? What’s wrong? Are you okay?"

His lips trembled from the effort it took to smile. "It’s nothing," he said. How could he say otherwise? He didn’t even know where to begin.

If Envoy Zhang were right and war was imminent again, was Liu Yao still living on borrowed time?

An idiom that has the same meaning as ’it’s lonely at the top’. Used to describe someone in a position of power, unable to have true confidantes due to their circumstances. The idea being the higher you climb, the colder it becomes because there are less people who are able to relate to and understand you, thus resulting in loneliness. Taken from a famous line in a Northern Song Dynasty poem by Su Shi (courtesy name Dongpo). A variety of chrysanthemum cultivated to be red on one half and yellow on the other. The name is in reference to the act of mandarin ducks frolicking between the lotus flowers in a pond, which is a symbol for a harmonious wedded union. Chinese internet slang to describe a couple showing off their good relationship (whether intentionally or otherwise) in front of others. Comes from the title of ’single dog’ for the unattached (often used self-deprecatingly).