Song Pu had not slept well that night either. In the middle of the night, he woke to find himself once again wrapped in Tantai Yi’s arms.
Tantai Yi was tall and had dreadful sleeping habits. He could roll off his own bed onto Song Pu’s, then wind all four limbs tightly around him.
The manor was usually cool, and at night it grew even chillier, yet Song Pu had been woken by the heat.
He looked at Tantai Yi’s sleeping face, thoroughly speechless, but did not dare push him away. He could only endure it, at most struggling to slip one foot out from between Tantai Yi’s legs and stick it outside the covers to cool down.
In this manner, he drifted in and out of sleep until morning.
When Tantai Yi woke, he immediately felt his arms full. Looking down, he saw the smooth, soft strands of Song Pu’s hair. His eyes narrowed slightly. He shifted his arm, and upon realising Song Pu was still asleep, quietly tightened his hold, drawing him closer into his embrace.
Feeling the solid press of skin against skin, the corner of his lips began to lift, but then he suddenly recalled what had happened the night before, and the faint smile slowly fell away.
Tantai Yi was displeased. If he was displeased, naturally he would not allow Song Pu to remain at ease, so he pushed him away and sat up.
Song Pu was usually a good sleeper and not easily disturbed, but after such an unsettled night his sleep had been shallow, and Tantai Yi’s movement woke him at once.
He rubbed his eyes and, still groggy, saw Tantai Yi. “…Your Majesty?”
Tantai Yi said coldly, “And Minister Song can still sleep?”
Song Pu paused, then sat up as well, feigning ignorance. “How has Your Majesty come to sleep on my bed?”
Now that they had clearly separated their beds, no matter how thick-skinned Tantai Yi might be, he could hardly repeat the same excuse as before. Song Pu felt a faint flicker of triumph, waiting to see him embarrassed. Instead, he heard Tantai Yi speak in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone, “I ought to ask why Minister Song refused me last night. If you are always saying one thing and meaning another, I shall grow weary of it.”
Song Pu: “…”
The dog of an emperor had not made a fuss at the time, and now he was dredging it up after the fact?
Song Pu said, “When have I ever been duplicitous and refused Your Majesty?”
Tantai Yi gave a cold snort. “Minister Song is usually so quick-witted. How was it that you became so foolish last night? I said I did not wish to share a bed, yet you truly dared to sleep alone?”
His reasoning sounded somewhat muddled, but Song Pu understood perfectly well. Tantai Yi had long been indulged by him. The moment that indulgence was withdrawn, he felt uncomfortable, and so lashed out in irritation at what he saw as Song Pu’s insincerity. Song Pu had simply gone along with it, yet that had only served to anger him further.
That he had not flared up the night before was most likely due to Tantai Yi’s pride and self-regard, both far exceeding that of ordinary men.
Song Pu’s manner remained faultless. He said respectfully, “It is true that I was foolish. I merely thought that Your Majesty had grown tired of me and did not think further on it. I had not expected that Your Majesty was only speaking casually.”
Tantai Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint appearing within them. “What does Minister Song mean by that? Are you blaming me?”
Song Pu denied it outright. “How would I dare blame Your Majesty? Your Majesty is wise and mighty, and every decision you make is correct. How could I presume to interfere?”
Though still words of flattery, Tantai Yi felt that something was not quite right. He was not a fool. With the slightest reflection, he could sense the dissatisfaction hidden within Song Pu’s words.
His eyes narrowed, and the air about him seemed to drop several degrees.
Song Pu also felt the undercurrent beneath Tantai Yi’s calm exterior. After all, his livelihood depended on him. Though he believed there was some affection between them, he did not dare overstep. At once, he put on a courteous, serviceable smile and asked cautiously, “Will Your Majesty be rising?”
Tantai Yi did not answer.
Song Pu looked at him expectantly, his sharp eyes catching the movement beneath the covers. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached out and grasped it.
Only then did Tantai Yi’s expression shift slightly. “What is Lord Song doing?”
“I am attending to Your Majesty,” Song Pu replied.
Tantai Yi said stiffly, “You have broken my abstinence time and again. If it affects my prayers, I shall not spare you.”
Song Pu immediately let go. “I have been presumptuous. I know my fault.”
“….” Tantai Yi felt a surge of vexation, then ground his teeth. “Your will is so unsteady. Do you truly take everything I say at face value? If so, I have misjudged you!”
Song Pu: “…”
For some reason, he found it rather amusing. The irritation from the previous night had entirely dissipated. “…I understand. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness for my earnest desire to relieve Your Majesty’s needs.”
With such matters, once one had done it once, the second time was no longer so difficult.
Song Pu even asked Tantai Yi for some ointment to use as lubrication, to ease the soreness in his palm from the constant friction.
Thus he worked, pausing and resuming by turns, and it took a full half an hour before it was done.
This time he was prepared. When he felt the tremor in his palm, he turned his head aside, neatly avoiding the surging tide.
His face was spared, though his hair, ears and neck were still splashed with a little. He wiped it away and smiled at Tantai Yi. “Is Your Majesty satisfied?”
Tantai Yi’s chest rose and fell sharply. Hearing this, he forced himself to reply in a composed tone, “Minister Song’s skill is excellent. Do you often practise on yourself?”
Song Pu, being a grown man, had no qualms about such matters. “To be frank with Your Majesty, there is nothing to it but practice.”
Tantai Yi seemed to think of something. The faint flush on his face, still lingering from earlier, suddenly cooled, and he said in a chilly tone, “I had not realised. Minister Song is a scholar. Naturally you would be adept at such… curious techniques.”
What was that, looking down on scholars?
Song Pu smiled faintly. “Your Majesty jests. This is all I know. I fear I would understand nothing more than this.”
Tantai Yi pressed him, “You are seventeen this year. Have you ever touched a woman before?”
The scene struck Song Pu as oddly familiar, like those gossip threads he used to read, where someone complained that his girlfriend suspected him of not being a virgin simply because he kissed too skilfully the first time, leading to an argument.
Once that sense of familiarity took hold, the way he looked at Tantai Yi became rather peculiar. “…Your Majesty jests. I keep myself as chaste as Your Majesty. I will only touch my future wife. How could I casually touch other women?”
Yet Tantai Yi did not feel pleased upon hearing this.
Previously, even the mere thought of Song Pu taking a wife had been intolerable to him. Now, hearing him say it outright, an inexplicable anger flared up in his chest.
He gave a cold laugh. “So if you had a wife, you would touch her?”
Song Pu found the question absurd. However, he was not foolish. Thinking of something, his gaze at Tantai Yi grew increasingly strange. “Your Majesty is not… jealous, are you?”
“What does ‘jealous’ mean?”
Song Pu did not know how to explain, and out of a certain fear did not dare make it clear. He pretended confusion and said, “I misspoke. What I mean is that I have not considered marriage at present. Your Majesty may not know, but in the eyes of the various ladies, I am already a most undesirable match. For now, no young lady would be willing to marry me.”
Hearing this, Tantai Yi’s brows relaxed somewhat. “Why is that? Though Minister Song’s looks are merely ordinary, you are lively and rather endearing. Why would they dislike you?”
Song Pu thought, is it not all because of you?
And hearing himself described as merely ordinary made him a little indignant. How was he ordinary? At school he had been considered one of the most handsome boys, with plenty of girls pursuing him. It was only because he had been focused on getting into a good university that he had remained single.
Of course, if the comparison was Tantai Yi, that was another matter.
“Your Majesty may not know, but outside it is said that you cannot distinguish right from wrong and take pleasure in killing at a whim. The ladies likely think I will not live long, so they dare not marry their daughters to me, lest they become widows,” Song Pu said cautiously, his eyes fixed on Tantai Yi’s face.
Now that he dared look directly, he found Tantai Yi’s face dazzling to an almost blinding degree. Compared to it, calling himself unremarkable did not seem so inaccurate after all.
“Utter nonsense!” Tantai Yi was genuinely angered. “No matter how bored I might be, I would never deliberately punish Minister Song. If there truly comes a day when I do so, it would only be because you had done something I could not tolerate.”
Song Pu’s expression stiffened. He said softly, “Your Majesty has said you would not punish me.”
Tantai Yi smiled faintly, his tone unexpectedly gentle. “I always keep my word. So long as Minister Song does not provoke me, I shall naturally cherish you as one would a precious jewel.”
So there was still a condition, Song Pu thought.
Then he heard Tantai Yi continue in a mild voice, “I am quite reasonable. Those long-tongued women are truly detestable, slandering me in such a manner. Do you remember their names? I shall punish them properly, so that they dare not speak such nonsense again.”
“….” Song Pu often found himself at a loss for words when faced with Tantai Yi. Now he could clearly feel that Tantai Yi was indeed extremely self-centred. In his mind, he was always in the right, never in the wrong. Having seen his true nature, Song Pu even felt that his earlier deliberate coldness had been like digging his own grave. His tone softened considerably. “Your Majesty need not be angered. I do not know which ladies they were. I only know that among the great families, I have already fallen into neglect. It is the smaller households that flock to me, yet my family looks down on them. Thus, for the time being, I fear I shall not be able to marry.”
Tantai Yi had still been annoyed, but at this point he suddenly realised that this was not a bad thing at all. If he did not grant a marriage, then Song Pu would not be able to wed. And if he could be brought directly into the palace and given the title of a male consort, then all future trouble would be eliminated at the root.
His original thought had not been wrong, only that it was not convenient to raise it again now.
Tantai Yi’s anger subsided, and then he suddenly thought of something else. The corner of his lips lifted slightly as he said, “I had thought Minister Song physically weak, to the point of being incapable of arousal. I did not expect that you would still have the strength to rise again.”
