Facts have proven that the allure of online shopping is fatal to humans, and Wen Zhuo is no exception.
Ever since he followed Shen Zheng to the modern world, their home has gained many novel, ingenious gadgets, and the huge refrigerator has been stuffed to the brim.
But he is not fond of shopping for its own sake; it is simply that he has never seen most of these things before, and he is always eager to figure out how they work.
For example, he bought a mechanical music box. When he saw that it could spin and play music on its own without external force, he messaged Liu Qiying to ask about the principle, learned what a clockwork was, and followed the thread to come across the concept of "physics".
To understand physics, he taught himself the beginner courses, and then when he thought of the lower limb exoskeleton Shen Zheng designed back then, it no longer seemed like something unthinkable to him.
Naturally, now he also knows exactly who Newton was.
Another example: he bought a camera, and then started to explore the principles of imaging, only to realize that the waist-level viewfinder Shen Zheng gave him had clear technical roots.
Shen Zheng is a book lover, a habit he developed back in junior high school. But as he got tangled up in all sorts of trivial matters, many of his books have been left dust-covered on the shelves, unread.
Wen Zhuo, however, worked his way through that whole row of bookcases, taking each book down to read carefully.
At first, he struggled to get used to modern horizontally arranged text, reading very slowly. Once he adjusted, though, he could read ten lines at a glance. He unsealed every last one of those dust-laden books, and added his neat, meticulous notes in the margins. When Shen Zheng saw that, he could not help but feel a little ashamed of his own unread collection.
Luckily their home is spacious enough that all the items Wen Zhuo bought can still be stored properly, the only exception being the refrigerator, which is running out of space. Shen Zheng had no choice but to sort through it to clear some room.
He took out two boxes of New Zealand king salmon, sliced the fish and prepared wasabi and soy sauce, then carried the plate over to Wen Zhuo. "Teacher, I bought some deep-sea salmon, want to try it?"
Wen Zhuo looked at the bright red raw fish, leaned slightly back, and said very seriously, "When I ordered this, the picture the shop showed me did not look like this at all. I only bought it to see how fish from faraway lands differ from the fish caught in the sea near Jin."
He paused, then frowned a little with a hint of disgust. "Raw fish can't possibly be eaten directly, can it?"
Shen Zheng found his reaction funny. "What do you want to do then? This fish was extremely expensive. It cost enough to pay for a flight to Mianzhou. Are you really going to waste it, Teacher?"
Wen Zhuo remembered Shen Zheng saying that a flight to Mianzhou cost a good deal of money, and immediately felt that wasting it would be terribly extravagant. He forced himself to lean in despite his discomfort, and gave the fish a light sniff.
It did not smell fishy at all, but it still looked rather unsettling to him.
Shen Zheng picked up a pair of chopsticks and held a piece out to coax him. "You're from Mianzhou, Teacher, you should be able to get used to this."
Wen Zhuo reluctantly took a tiny bite. The texture was cold and raw, and it was really hard to swallow. His mind told him to swallow it, but his tongue kept pushing it out unconsciously, so the piece of raw fish was stuck between his lips, going nowhere.
He did not say it tasted bad, just mumbled, "The Book of Songs says, 'For our honored friends we feast, roast turtle and slice carp.' I bought this to treat Your Majesty. The rest is for you to enjoy."
"My dear wife loves me so deeply," Shen Zheng said with a half-smile.
"Exactly," Wen Zhuo nodded solemnly.
Shen Zheng was not obsessed with sashimi, but he could certainly eat it. But such high-quality salmon should not leave Wen Zhuo with nothing but a bad, unpalatable first impression.
He pinched Wen Zhuo's chin gently with his fingertips, making him spit out the fish, and said softly, "I love you just as deeply, my dear, so I'll help you cook it, make it sweet for you."
Wen Zhuo lifted his eyes slowly, clearly tempted.
"But there's a condition," Shen Zheng said, tucking a stray lock of hanging black hair behind his ear, coaxing him gently. "The old poem says, 'Most lovely the reeds after rain, under a thatched boat, a fire for cooking fish.' I can only make the most delicious food when I have a nice view to look at."
Wen Zhuo tilted his head to look out the window. The sky was clear and bright, the sun hung high overhead, the trees were lush and green, and the peach blossoms were in full bloom. Even though there were tall buildings in the distance, it was still a view that made people feel relaxed and happy.
He was just thinking that over when he heard Shen Zheng laugh and say, "Wanshan, go change into a set of nice, comfortable clothes for me. I want to look at that view while I cook."
"......"
So that was the "view" he was talking about.
Wen Zhuo stared back at him silently for a moment, then automatically switched to his empress mode. He quietly took off his pajama pants and tossed them onto the sofa.
They had not been intimate for quite a while recently, since Wen Zhuo had been going to the clinic every day for physical therapy. Wen Zhuo had missed that kind of closeness too, deep in his heart.
"That's not enough," Shen Zheng's eyes darkened.
Wen Zhuo, as sharp and clever as ever, did exactly as Shen Zheng wanted. Now only his pajama top was still decent, barely preserving his last bit of dignity.
Shen Zheng's gaze drifted slowly down, and he undid two more of the overly proper buttons.
Underneath, Wen Zhuo's pale neck was as smooth as congealed fat, his collarbones slim and elegant, strands of his black hair tangling over his skin. It truly was a stunning sight to behold.
Now even the last bit of decency was gone. Shen Zheng was satisfied, and took the salmon back to the kitchen counter to season it with salt and black pepper.
"What is Your Majesty going to make?" Wen Zhuo leaned close and asked softly.
Shen Zheng slipped one palm under the hem of Wen Zhuo's pajama top in passing, brushing gently over his thin abdomen and narrow waist, and whispered, "Caramel-seared salmon."
It sounded delicious already. Wen Zhuo moved even closer, watching as the white sugar gradually melted and turned into amber caramel.
Shen Zheng cut a small piece of butter and dropped it in, letting the caramel simmer until it smelled rich and fragrant. His fingertips continued to wander, their range expanding from Wen Zhuo's waist and abdomen up to his chest, his fingertips brushing over the soft peaks until they flushed a delicate pink.
He put the salmon in the pan and seared it over low heat. Once it set, he pulled Wen Zhuo into his arms and kissed him until his lips were soft and wet.
Then he brushed the caramel sauce over the fish and picked up the kitchen torch to sear the surface.
Wen Zhuo's upper body was now completely exposed, and the places where Shen Zheng touched him tensed up under the thin layer of silk.
There was a click, and Shen Zheng turned off the torch. A small flicker of flame flashed, and a sweet, rich scent flooded the whole kitchen.
Though the two of them were smelling very different kinds of sweetness.
The seared salmon had rich, plump fat, a crispy caramelized outer layer, and was just barely cooked through inside, melting the moment it touched the tongue.
It was Shen Zheng's first time making this dish, but he did a surprisingly good job. When Wen Zhuo saw the finished dish, his eyes lit up immediately.
He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. The savory, sweet taste spread across his tongue, so delicious he almost squinted in pleasure.
He immediately composed a line of poetry: "Golden crust wraps red scales smooth as jade, sweet fragrance fills my lips, fresh and bright. Thank you, my dear husband."
"My wife is so talented, and you look so lovely while you eat," Shen Zheng laughed.
Wen Zhuo had been leaning against the kitchen counter holding his plate to eat, but soon Shen Zheng gently pushed him back against the counter, making him arch his waist slightly.
Shen Zheng slowly rolled up the hem of Wen Zhuo's top, and asked with great amusement, "Wanshan, you've read so many of the modern world's books. Did you learn the term 'food chain'?"
Wen Zhuo propped both arms on the counter, his breath coming in slightly uneven gasps, his beautiful eyes glistening with a mist of moisture. He still answered earnestly, "...All living things in nature are eaten by stronger ones, linked together in a cycle that goes on and on without end."
Shen Zheng chuckled low. "The food chain is that cats eat fish. And I eat the 'cat'."
That day, they were lost in each other all day long. The fish was eaten up completely, and the "cat" was thoroughly loved and satisfied, the afterglow of their passion lingering for a long time.
Luckily Wen Zhuo's physical therapy ended in mid-May. If it had gone on any longer, all the marks all over his body would have left him too embarrassed to show his face at the clinic.
After their indulgence, Wen Zhuo forced himself to stay awake through his tiredness and finished the last page of *A Short History of Nearly Everything*.
He put the book back in the bookcase, then rummaged through the shelves carefully.
His gaze landed on the second shelf from the bottom. A book with a khaki yellow cover stood out sharply among all the dull, technical reference books. He squatted down and reached out.
He pulled the book out, and saw the bold characters printed on the cover — *Notes on Tomb Raiders*.
Wen Zhuo froze completely!
He had always thought that after Shen Zheng had been completely honest with him about everything, all the old stories from Nanping had just been made up to get him out of a tight spot. He never expected that Shen Zheng had actually been secretly researching tomb raiding all this time.
That kind of behavior was immoral and unforgivable in the Great Qian, and it must absolutely be against the law and public morality even in the modern world.
There was no threat or coercion from the people of Nanping anymore. So why on earth would Shen Zheng take an interest in this kind of work?
He was full of confusion, clutching the phone that Shen Zheng had given him, and asked cautiously in a low voice, "Hey Liu Qiying, if my husband is fond of tomb raiding, what on earth could be the reason for that?"
A sweet, soft voice chimed in right away, "Hahaha, Great Qian Young Master, is your husband still an emperor? Maybe it's just his nature! Do you need me to help you look up the locations of all the imperial mausoleums of the Nanping Dynasty through the ages?"
Wen Zhuo: ......
Wen Zhuo said in a solemn tone, "No need."
The sweet-voiced Liu Qiying said again, "Great Qian Young Master, you are so kind. If I were the emperor, I would definitely dig up all the ancestral tombs of Nanping!"
Wen Zhuo said in a deep, stern voice, "Got it. You can step back now."
He walked back to the bedroom with a book in his arms, most of his drowsiness already gone.
Shen Zheng was leaning against the bed scrolling through his phone, and looked up to see him coming back with a heavy, grave look on his face. Shen Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Teacher, what's wrong?"
Wen Zhuo pushed the book right in front of him, his tone serious. "Your Highness, have you really studied tomb raiding in depth?"
Shen Zheng never expected that even after they had returned to the modern era, the topic of tomb raiding could still come up. He lowered his eyes to take a clear look at the book title, and could not help but burst into a laugh.
"This *Notes on Tomb Raiding* is not a real guide to studying tomb raiding at all. It's just a fictional novel, similar to *Soushen Ji*—the *Records of the Search for the Supernatural*. Besides, what I said back then wasn't even actually about tomb raiding. It was just that so many things in later generations were hard to explain, so making up a story that they all came out of ancient tombs was the most convenient excuse."
Wen Zhuo flipped open the book, and the first volume was precisely the Seven Stars Lu Palace, which turned out to be the very source of the chess score that Shen Zheng had made up back then.
His heart felt a little relieved. He climbed onto the bed, flipped through a couple of pages, and then asked again, "I clearly remember that Your Majesty said the word tomb raiding back then."
Shen Zheng pulled him to lie down under the covers, picked up his phone, typed out three English letters, and held the screen before his eyes. "What I said was this."
Wen Zhuo had never been exposed to English before, and looked completely bewildered. "What does that mean?"
Shen Zheng looked at him, a smile dancing in his eyes, and asked softly, "Does Teacher want to know?"
"Of course I do."
Shen Zheng lowered his head and pressed a light kiss on his lips. "We'll sleep first today. Tomorrow I'll find a book for Teacher, and once you read it, you'll understand."
With this thought weighing on his mind, Wen Zhuo turned off the lights and went to sleep.
He had indulged a little too much the day before, so he did not wake up until noon the next day. Shen Zheng was already nowhere to be found beside him—he must have had some matters to deal with at the academy. And right there on his bedside, a book was placed, just as promised.
After he finished washing up, he heated a cup of milk and toasted two egg tarts as he usually did, then sat on the balcony holding the book and began to read carefully.
The sunlight was warm and gentle, the streets below were gradually coming alive with the bustle of daily life, and the soft chirping of insects from the trees filled the air. It was a perfectly peaceful, uneventful scene. He slowly turned the pages of the book—
But only a moment later, Wen Zhuo jumped to his feet, knocked over his cup of milk, covered his ears and ran away as fast as he could, his cheeks burning like they were on fire.
Obscene! Completely indecent!
It turned out to be an explicit erotic picture album!
The study door stayed closed and quiet for a long time, before the doorknob was turned gently. The floor was stepped on very softly, and a hand reached out toward the balcony. The fingers groped back and forth a little, grabbed the book, and yanked it back into the room in a quick whoosh.
Shen Zheng came home right after finishing his graduation defense. The second he stepped through the door, he saw Wen Zhuo huddled up wrapped in a thin quilt, with the faint sound of pages turning coming from under the cover. Wen Zhuo was so focused on reading that he did not notice Shen Zheng had come back at all.
Shen Zheng set down his backpack softly, walked over quietly, and wrapped his arms around the bulging quilt bundle from behind.
Wen Zhuo jolted in fright. He lifted his hand in a flurry, and the book flew out from under the quilt, tracing an arc through the air before landing heavily on the floor.
His black hair was slightly messy, and he was still flustered with shock as he turned around and said, "Your Majesty!"
Shen Zheng smoothed out his disheveled hair, his eyes falling on the small book whose pages were clearly well-thumbed. He asked with a teasing smile on his lips, "Now does Teacher know what it is that I actually like?"
"...... I have a rough idea." Wen Zhuo was so uncomfortable all over that he tried to burrow back under the covers again.
This time Shen Zheng did not tease him any further, and loosened his hold on him.
Wen Zhuo was such a traditional, upright and proper person, it was only natural that he would be reluctant to accept this kind of thing. It was just a little small quirk of his, and it did not affect their feelings for each other in the slightest.
But Wen Zhuo was the one who ended up feeling surprised. He had fully expected Shen Zheng to yank him right out of the quilt to make fun of his blushing, flustered look.
Seeing that Shen Zheng did not make a move for a long time, he could not help pulling the corner of the quilt down a little, revealing a pair of clear, bright eyes.
After a moment of silence, he coughed softly and said, "Your Majesty...... do you... want to give it a try?"
