[Can't I even think about it?]
The Sushan was placed in a small dish, gradually melting.
The young man didn't eat it, and instead, it all went to the little white cat.
The kitten squatted at the edge of the pool, wagging its tail, head down and licking.
Probably because the Sushan had a sweet, sticky milky scent, it ate very happily.
Su Zhenzhen was pressed into the pool by Mu Dan. The pool was already small, and her fingertips scratched blindly, catching the young man's black hair floating on the spring water.
That black hair was long and thick, wrapping around her fingertips wetly like spread-out silk.
Lu Hexu lifted her chin with one hand, and with the other, he guided her wrist to slide downwards.
"You can look."
[Look at what?]
Lu Hexu lowered his eyes, pressing down on Su Zhenzhen's body as she tried to climb out of the pool. He pressed against her lightly, his exhaled breath burning and scalding, making her feel a tingling numbness seep into her very bones.
The fingertips Su Zhenzhen rested on the edge of the pool also felt a strange numbness. She remembered how, just a moment ago when they were on the desk, the young man had lightly bitten her fingertips, and her fingers had slid down from his eyebrows, tracing his face thoroughly.
"You can look."
The young man repeated once more.
He lowered his eyes to stare at her. Those eyes were soaked in moonlight and the scattered soft light under the eaves, drawing her soul in like a whirlpool.
Lust clouds the mind.
Su Zhenzhen's mind began to blur, and she heard her own trembling heartbeat.
Her gaze fell from the young man's water-stained cheeks, landing on his faint Adam's apple and neck.
His neck was truly sexy.
It had the flexibility of a youth, yet did not lack a sense of power.
Mimicking what the young man had done earlier, Su Zhenzhen reached out her fair, soft palm, gently pinched his jaw, and then traced the path of the water droplets downwards to grasp his neck.
The young man clearly felt somewhat uncomfortable, but he did not struggle, only looking at her with misty eyes.
Mu Dan's neck was very slender, the lines clean and smooth. His skin was so pale that faint blue veins could be seen vaguely. As he breathed, the skin on the side of his neck rose and fell slightly, revealing a delicate fragility that seemed unable to withstand a firm grip.
[Such a slender neck.]
[So fragile.]
Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but rub it with her fingertips, and the pale skin immediately showed a crimson mark from her touch.
Was his skin actually more delicate than hers?
Because of his tilted head, the small black mole on the young man's neck looked especially erotic at this moment. Lu Hexu half-closed his eyes, enduring this strange palpitation.
He subconsciously leaned forward, and Su Zhenzhen's hand continued to slide down with his movement.
The young man's clothes were already soaked through, clinging to his skin and revealing a large expanse of his collarbone.
As the woman's hand roamed over his body, Lu Hexu's hand gripping the edge of the pool tightened subconsciously.
He heard his own breathing grow heavier.
Lu Hexu lowered his eyes, bending his head to seek the woman's lips.
Slightly cool lips pressed against hers. Still immersed in a daze, Su Zhenzhen did not refuse.
Beside them, the little white cat, having finished licking the Sushan, flicked its tail. The slender tail dipped into the pool, then was quickly lifted and shaken vigorously, accompanied by a soft, cute meow.
"Meow~"
A single cat's cry was exceptionally clear in the quiet courtyard, shattering the strange, romantic atmosphere.
Su Zhenzhen instantly sobered up.
She turned her head and pushed him away, her lips still wet and carrying the young man's scent. "Um, my medicine is going to burn."
He had already satisfied her wish.
She was still hiding from him.
Lu Hexu's eyes instantly darkened.
Su Zhenzhen leaned halfway out of the pool, only to be pulled back by the young man.
Water splashed everywhere, and the little white cat ran away with a "meow".
Su Zhenzhen was pressed against the edge of the pool, the young man pressing against her back. That invisible pressure weighed down from all directions. Su Zhenzhen subconsciously fluttered her eyelashes. The water droplets clinging to her lashes gathered together, forming a crystal-clear drop that slid down her smooth, fragrant cheek.
Su Zhenzhen felt the young man's fingertips sliding down her neck.
His fingertips were very cold, and his nails probably hadn't been clipped in a while, showing a transparent pinkish-white that visually elongated his fingers, making them look like blooming lotus petals.
The sharp pink fingertips glided across her skin, seemingly giving a sensation as if she were about to be sliced open.
Pressing against Su Zhenzhen, Lu Hexu recalled the thought that had flashed through the woman's mind when she was sitting on the desk.
[I really want... to tie twin tails again.]
He closed his eyes and said, "You can tie them. Twin tails."
Eh?
-
Is it really okay?
Su Zhenzhen stood behind the dressing table as the young man changed out of his wet clothes.
Although he didn't often stay here, and the two lived apart despite being married, ever since Mu Dan's last dissociative episode, his room had gradually accumulated some everyday items.
For example, a lotus-patterned glazed lamp suitable for the table, over a dozen identical eunuch uniforms in the wardrobe, simple shoes and socks, books, toiletries, and so on.
The young man's hair was now loose. Because it had been tied up for quite a while, it looked slightly wavy.
His long black hair cascaded all the way to his waist, covering his slender body like a black cloth.
Holding a wooden comb, Su Zhenzhen began to comb Mu Dan's hair.
His hair wasn't completely dry yet. Su Zhenzhen put down the comb and used a towel to wring his hair dry.
The young man sat there with a frown, his fingertips resting on his knees curling up.
"Is it too tight?"
Wringing hair dry naturally required some force.
"No."
"It's not tight?"
"...No."
The young man squeezed out the words one by one, as if enduring something.
Receiving a positive answer, Su Zhenzhen continued her movements.
Mu Dan's hair was thick and black. Such volume was truly enviable.
Finally, after drying Mu Dan's hair, Su Zhenzhen was sweating fragrantly from the effort.
She used her fingertips to separate his hair strand by strand to let it air dry.
She brought over the wooden rack originally used for hanging clothes to help dry the young man's hair.
The heavy, long hair hung over the rack, blown by the summer breeze.
Because the weather was hot, the young man's hair dried quickly.
Looking at Mu Dan, who was resting his chin on one hand and sitting obediently in front of the dressing table letting her do as she pleased, Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but ask again, "Is it really okay?"
The young man gently opened his eyes, meeting Su Zhenzhen's gaze in the mirror.
In the not-so-clear mirror, their eyes collided.
Lu Hexu spoke, "You can."
[Then she wouldn't hold back.]
Su Zhenzhen picked up the comb again, smoothed Mu Dan's hair, and then parted it into two halves.
"What color hair ribbon do you want?"
Su Zhenzhen asked while parting the young man's hair.
The young man kept his eyes closed, showing no reaction.
Su Zhenzhen thought for a moment and brought out a bundle of hair ribbons from a small drawer under the dressing table.
Looking at the colorful ribbons, she first held a green one against the young man's face to see how it looked.
It was pretty, but the color was a bit too dark.
Then she picked up a red one.
It was vibrant, but the color was a bit too red.
Finally, she picked up a pink one.
Perfect.
Su Zhenzhen tied one side for the young man first.
"Is it too tight?"
She was terrified of tearing the young man's soft scalp.
Su Zhenzhen's room was filled with her scent everywhere, permeated with the fragrance of herbs mixed with a faint, uniquely feminine aroma.
Smelling this scent, Lu Hexu's mind unexpectedly calmed down, but it was replaced by another sensation. He collected himself and slowly replied, "Not too tight."
Then I'll tie it tighter.
A tugging force came from his scalp. Lu Hexu opened his eyes, tilted his head back, and looked at Su Zhenzhen behind him.
"Is it too tight?" Su Zhenzhen felt a bit guilty. She eased the tension in her hands and loosened it slightly.
Lu Hexu took a deep breath, closed his eyes again, and said, "Continue."
Oh.
Actually, Su Zhenzhen's enthusiasm had just been piqued.
She felt as if she were dressing up a real-life BJD doll.
Generally speaking, BJD dolls were no larger than 90 centimeters. Su Zhenzhen had a 1/6 scale doll at home, thirty centimeters tall, which sat on her desk.
In her free time, she loved buying pretty clothes for it to wear.
The young man had the exact modeled face of a BJD doll. It was not a cold, hard handsomeness, but rather the flawless, sweet boy doll look with snow-white skin and rosy lips. Yet, he also possessed that pseudo-human quality of a BJD doll, especially those eyes—clearly beautiful to the extreme, but exuding an inhuman, glassy feel.
Once one side was tied, Su Zhenzhen secured it with a pretty pink bow, then began combing the young man's hair on the other side.
Because it was an extremely simple twin-tail hairstyle, Su Zhenzhen tied it very quickly.
The young man was at an androgynous age. His porcelain-white skin was thin and translucent like jade. Because he was resting his chin on one hand with his eyes closed, the gloominess in his eyes was concealed, leaving only a face blessed by heaven.
Although there was no such thing as a twin-tail hairstyle here, Su Zhenzhen was very fond of it.
She grasped one ponytail with one hand, carefully smoothing it from the roots down to the ends.
One of his ponytails had more hair than her entire head.
Then she noticed that Mu Dan's body trembled slightly, quite noticeably.
Hmm?
Su Zhenzhen held the waist-length twin tails, carefully released them, and then tentatively continued, smoothing them down again from the pink bows.
"Mmm..." The young man's body subconsciously leaned forward a bit, as if trying to evade her touch.
Su Zhenzhen heard a slightly moist sound escape his throat, exceptionally distinct in the quiet room.
Su Zhenzhen paused her movement of holding his ponytails. Her gaze shifted slightly upward, catching sight of the young man's slowly opening eyes in the mirror, which were suffused with a faint layer of red.
Although Su Zhenzhen lacked personal experience, she wasn't completely ignorant.
She had heard of things like sensitive spots.
Could someone's sensitive spot be... their hair?
Recalling how the young man had been frowning the whole time when she used a towel to wring dry his hair earlier, it turned out he wasn't uncomfortable, but rather...
Su Zhenzhen remembered that a long time ago, she had also combed his hair into twin tails. So the reason he glared at her back then was because... she had touched somewhere she shouldn't have!
"Let go."
[Weren't they touchable before? Now they can't be touched.]
Although she grumbled in her heart, Su Zhenzhen obediently let go.
The young man sporting the twin tails looked simply too well-behaved and adorable; whatever little guard Su Zhenzhen had left in her heart was completely shattered.
She quietly leaned in, tilting her head to rest her chin on the young man's shoulder.
[If only his eunuch uniform were changed into a skirt...]
The young man's eyes, originally steeped in a lazy and soft gaze, instantly sharpened. As if able to see right through Su Zhenzhen's thoughts, his gaze landed directly on her face through the mirror.
"Cough."
Su Zhenzhen felt inexplicably guilty.
[I was just thinking about it.]
[Is it a crime to just think about it?]
-
As the night deepened, Su Zhenzhen took her medicine and went to sleep.
She had been having some trouble falling asleep lately, so she prescribed herself a nourishing and soothing remedy. She added some herbs that aided quick sleep, with effects similar to modern melatonin.
Lying in bed, Su Zhenzhen was just about to fall asleep, yet her mind was still fixated on the young man's twin tails.
It was a pity there were no smartphones; otherwise, she would definitely take ten thousand photos to admire by herself.
"Don't take them down... they look good..."
Su Zhenzhen mumbled drowsily and finally succumbed to her sleepiness, drifting off.
Lu Hexu sat by the windowsill, his gaze lowering from the gauze lantern painted with a little dog hanging under the eaves.
The woman had already fallen asleep. She liked to sleep on her stomach, and her sleeping posture was quite ordinary, with her long hair tossed to the side of the pillow.
She liked using soft pillows: one to hug, one to wedge between her legs, one to prop behind her back, and one to rest her head on.
However, because the weather was simply too hot, these soft pillows were temporarily out of use, replaced instead by a bamboo wife.
Many scented sachets hung on the bed curtains; whenever their scent faded, they would be replaced with new ones.
Lu Hexu lowered his head and pinched the ugly sachet at his own waist. The twin tails on his head drooped down, obstructing his view.
Lu Hexu frowned. Just as he was about to undo them, his expression suddenly paused, and he turned his head to look into the courtyard.
"Master, someone is coming."
Shadow One approached Lu Hexu silently, drawing the soft sword hidden at his waist and shielding Lu Hexu behind him.
Earlier, Shadow One had been hiding far away, only catching a rough glimpse through the half-open window.
Now that he was closer, the dark, round eyes on Shadow One's pitch-black face couldn't help but glance back involuntarily, and then glance again, until Lu Hexu shot him a fierce and vicious glare, making him quickly withdraw his uncontrollable gaze.
The young man maintained his posture sitting on the windowsill. He raised his hands and undid the twin tails on his head. His fingertips twirled the two pink ribbons as his long black hair tumbled down, spreading out like dark cloth.
His gaze shifted toward the inside of the room.
Su Zhenzhen was sleeping soundly.
At some unknown point, three men dressed in black had slipped over the wall into the small courtyard.
They wielded weapons, and it was a mystery how they had broken through the Brocade Guards' defensive lines to arrive here.
Seeing the young man sitting on the windowsill, the leading man in black darkened his eyes.
Lu Hexu stood up methodically, took off his outer robe, and draped it over Su Zhenzhen.
As the garment covered her head, Su Zhenzhen stirred drowsily but did not open her eyes.
The efficacy of the medicine she had brewed for herself today was a bit too strong.
"Don't make too much noise."
Lu Hexu stood by the bed and casually let down the bed curtains as well.
The sound of clashing swords rang out in the courtyard. The leading man in black did not seem eager to fight; upon seeing Shadow One make a move, he quickly retreated.
However, one of the men following him suddenly charged forward with a blade. Taking advantage of the moment when the other man in black was entangled with Shadow One, he attacked Lu Hexu at the windowsill.
Lu Hexu sat with one leg straddling the windowsill, tilting his head to look at the man.
"Don't..."
The leading man in black had barely spat out these two words.
A flash of silver light streaked by, and another hidden guard appeared out of thin air. A slender silver wire wrapped around the attacker's neck, slitting his throat directly.
Splattering blood sprayed all over the door panels, leaving a thin layer of bloodstains on the floor tiles as well.
Lu Hexu frowned and shook off the bloodstains that had tainted his fingertips.
"Third Brother..." the man in black in the courtyard let out a low wail, only to have his arm grabbed firmly by the leader.
The two vaulted over the enclosing wall and left straight away.
The courtyard instantly fell silent, leaving only a faint scent of blood in the air.
Shadow Two stood there with lowered eyes, silver threads wrapped around her hands.
She was a lean and lithe woman, dressed in dark clothes with a black cloth covering her face.
Shadow One stood in the courtyard with a puzzled expression. He had barely exchanged a few moves with the two figures in black using the longsword in his hand.
These people didn't seem like assassins; they were more like scouts gathering intelligence.
Knowing well the principle of not pursuing a desperate enemy, Shadow One did not give chase, but instead returned to Lu Hexu's side.
"Clean this up," Lu Hexu ordered, turning around to enter the room.
Stepping into a puddle of bloody water, Shadow One couldn't help but look at Shadow Two. "You always make such a mess."
Shadow Two did not reply, simply wiping her silver threads methodically with her sleeve.
These silver threads were as fine as hair but incredibly tough, impervious to water and fire, and capable of withstanding a thousand pounds of tension.
Resigned to his fate, Shadow One fetched water to scrub the floor, doors, and windows.
The room was very quiet. Lu Hexu parted the bed curtains and then lifted the clothing.
The woman was sleeping soundly. Because she had been covered by the clothing just now, her breathing was slightly stifled, leaving her face faintly flushed.
Once the clothing was removed, she unconsciously took a deep breath, then rolled over while hugging the bamboo wife in her arms.
Lu Hexu reached out his hand, and the bloodstains on his fingertips brushed against her face.
He furrowed his brows, walked over to the wooden washstand, took down a towel, dampened it with water, and brought it to the bedside to wipe her clean.
Zhao Lingyun led the other figure in black out of the courtyard.
The two did not stop to rest along the way, as their time had been strictly planned.
According to the acquired topographical map of the Qingliang Palace and the shift schedule of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they were to take advantage of the shift change to avoid the guards, reach the small courtyard to assassinate Mu Dan, and then use the same window of opportunity to escape to the Tinghe Courtyard.
The night was waning, yet the summer heat lingered.
The courtyard was completely devoid of even the sound of cicadas or frogs.
A lantern beneath the eaves cast a warm yellow glow, projecting the shadow of the window lattice onto the ground.
Shen Yanci was sitting behind the window, playing a game of Go with Liu Jingxing.
Seeing them through the window lattice, Zhao Lingyun pushed the door open and walked straight in, pulling off his face mask.
"It's confirmed. Mu Dan is indeed that tyrant. The hidden guards by his side are incredibly formidable."
Shen Yanci didn't even lift his head, merely continuing to place his game piece.
Liu Jingxing, on the other hand, was more polite. Placing a piece with one hand, he raised the other to gesture for Zhao Lingyun to sit.
Zhao Lingyun sat between the two, facing the Go board.
The game was already halfway through. In their match, Shen Yanci's playing style was not as ruthless as Liu Jingxing's, and he was beginning to show signs of losing.
Liu Jingxing glanced at his master. He knew his master's playing style had always been like this; years of trying to correct it had yielded no results.
"The hidden guard by his side killed my third brother," the figure in black who had entered with Zhao Lingyun said, taking off his face mask, his eyes revealing sorrow and anger.
"Didn't I tell you not to act rashly?" Liu Jingxing frowned.
The man in black pursed his lips. "Third Brother was too impulsive. Seeing that the tyrant's hidden guard was entangled with us, he wanted to take the chance to kill the tyrant. We didn't expect... there was another hidden guard lurking in the shadows."
"The hidden guards left by the late emperor number far more than a mere two." After speaking, Liu Jingxing looked up at Zhao Lingyun. "Now that Commander Zhao has confirmed it for himself, what is your decision?"
Having tragically lost his own younger brother and his ancestor, Zhao Lingyun wore a white mourning band tied beneath his night clothes.
His hands, resting on his knees, clenched tightly into fists. At the thought of that tyrant, a taste of blood surged in his throat. He said in a deep voice, "I will cooperate with you."
"Good," Liu Jingxing nodded. "Then please, Commander Zhao, do not act rashly and quietly await the right opportunity."
Zhao Lingyun stood up and left, leaving only Liu Jingxing and Shen Yanci in the room.
Shen Yanci stared at the board in front of him, contemplating where to place his next piece.
"Master, how do you think we should make use of this Zhao Lingyun?"
Shen Yanci pinched a white piece between his fingertips and paused. "Sir, you previously said that Zhao Lingyun was our final trump card."
"That was before." Liu Jingxing stood up and said to Shen Yanci, "Master, come with me."
Shen Yanci got up and followed Liu Jingxing out of the Tinghe Courtyard.
Liu Jingxing lived in the small courtyard right next door to Shen Yanci, separated only by a single wall.
Naturally, Liu Jingxing's courtyard was not as nice as Shen Yanci's. He pushed open the courtyard gate to reveal a bare space devoid of any decoration, save for a solitary, barren artificial rockery.
Liu Jingxing led Shen Yanci into his room.
The room was not large. Because it had not been ventilated for a long time, a foul, pungent smell of sandalwood hit them in the face.
Shen Yanci frowned but said nothing.
The room was a mess. Books from the corner bookshelf were scattered everywhere, compasses and other items lay strewn across the floor, and the walls were covered with divination texts and prognostications.
Behind the desk hung a star map, showing obvious signs of wear and tear.
On the altar table in the center of the room lay a tortoise shell and three copper coins.
"Master, please look at the hexagram."
Liu Jingxing pointed to the three copper coins on the table.
Shen Yanci couldn't understand it.
Liu Jingxing dropped his previously calm demeanor and said with excitement, "I calculated for three days and three nights, and finally saw a shift in the hexagram. Master, the Way of Heaven has changed. Zhao Lingyun can no longer be used as a trump card as we previously planned. His destiny has shifted, and the fate of the Zhao family has been brought forward." Standing before the tortoise shell, Liu Jingxing stared at the three copper coins. "Therefore, we must also adapt and change."
Standing behind Liu Jingxing, Shen Yanci looked at the madness on Liu Jingxing's face and, for some unknown reason, felt a sense of surreal detachment.
"Master?"
Shen Yanci snapped back to reality and nodded. "Everything shall be as you say, sir."
A look of relief appeared on Liu Jingxing's face. He turned, took an item from a wooden box on the bookshelf, and handed it to Shen Yanci.
"This is an evil-warding sword I personally carved for you, Master."
Liu Jingxing knew that Shen Yanci slept poorly at night and was often plagued by nightmares.
Shen Yanci looked down. It was a palm-sized peach wood sword, engraved with talismans to ward off evil.
"Thank you for your trouble, sir."
He reached out to accept it. After thanking Liu Jingxing, he returned to his own courtyard.
Closing the courtyard gate tightly, and then doing the same with his room door, Shen Yanci stepped inside. He was just about to hang the peach wood sword by the head of his bed as Liu Jingxing had instructed, when his expression suddenly froze.
He slowly put the peach wood sword away, turning to place it inside a wooden box on his bookshelf. Then, from another wooden box, he took out a fragrant sachet.
The scent of the sachet had already faded considerably. Even though Shen Yanci tried hard to preserve it, the summer humidity was gradually swallowing up its fragrance.
He turned around and hung the sachet by the head of his bed, the very spot where the peach wood sword should have been hung according to Liu Jingxing's instructions.
Early the next morning, Su Zhenzhen woke up from her sleep and seemed to catch a faint scent of blood in the air.
She got up, pushed open the window, and looked outside. A little white cat was squatting on the ground, basking in the sun.
In such hot weather, this silly cat was actually sunbathing.
For some reason, the courtyard looked much tidier than usual.
Su Zhenzhen counted the days; the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month was fast approaching. Thinking of the grand Aoshan lantern display in Jinling City made her itch to go see it. Then, remembering the snacks and the cat teaser she had bought last time, she felt even more regretful—they had all been lost while she was fleeing for her life.
But if she were to go out on her own, the psychological trauma she had suffered still hadn't fully healed.
The night was deep. Although autumn had already arrived, the temperature showed no signs of dropping.
"Sushan, come here."
Su Zhenzhen called out to the little white cat.
The youth lying in the rocking chair and the little white cat both raised their eyes to look at her at the same time.
Meeting Su Zhenzhen's gaze, the little white cat jumped down and trotted toward her with its tail held high.
Watching the little white cat run over and circle around her feet, Su Zhenzhen explained to Mu Dan, "I've picked out a name for it. It's called Sushan."
"Meow~" Sushan seemed to highly approve of this name.
Lu Hexu frowned, then closed his eyes again.
Su Zhenzhen walked over while holding Sushan. "How do you plan to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Lu Hexu replied faintly, "I don't."
Su Zhenzhen stroked Sushan's long tail and tried a different approach. "The last time I went to town, I saw that the candy shop had brought in a lot of new treats." At this point, Su Zhenzhen subtly glanced at the youth. "I really want to go buy some to taste."
Zhenzhen dedicates a song: My beautiful boy, I hope he isn't too kind, a fierce wolf in this world~
