Lou Jing was silent for a moment. “I still need to settle some things in the Capital, so I can’t accompany you,” he finally said, his voice sounding a little hoarse.
It was too obvious for him to head south with Xiao Chengjun. He would likely arouse the Emperor’s suspicions even if he sought leave on the pretext of visiting his Jiujiu in Lingnan, because the incident with the Third Prince over the New Year had reached the Emperor’s ears, and the Emperor had already heard the rumours that he and Xiao Chengjun were still carrying on a personal relationship. If he made any move to accompany Xiao Chengjun now, that would set that rumour in stone.
“I know…” Xiao Chengjun said, sighing. The last time they’d been apart, it had only been eight days, but it felt like eight years. After his departure to Minzhou, who knew when they would be able to see each other again?
They both felt rather melancholy after talking about their impending separation.
The next day, Xiao Chengjun started to prepare the things he needed to bring to Minzhou.
There were two routes one could take from the Capital to Minzhou. The first was to go through the Central Plains, and if he took that route, he would pass through Qingzhou and Jiangzhou. If he took the second route, he would pass through Jiangnan. The latter route had better scenery, but it was much longer, and Xiao Chengjun didn’t want to do anything that would set tongues wagging. He thus chose the Central Plains route.
Xiao Chengjun looked at the list of people who were to come with him to Minzhou, and he frowned slightly, raising a brush to cancel out around ten entries or so. “Going to my fief isn’t like leaving the palace to set up a new residence. These people can all stay in the Capital,” he said.
Chang En nodded in acknowledgment. He hesitated for a moment, then fell on his knees before Xiao Chengjun. “This old servant has served Dianxia for ten over years now. Dianxia, please let this old servant accompany you to Minzhou,” he said.
“Please don’t make things more difficult,” Xiao Chengjun said, rubbing his temples and gesturing for Chang En to rise. “I need you here to take care of things in the Capital, like the gifts that need to be sent and to pass me news from the Capital. If you came with me to the Southeast, who would I trust to do all this?”
Chang En couldn’t insist on going with his master after hearing this. He had indeed been the one who always managed relations with the palace, and if he left the Capital, he wouldn’t be as useful to Xiao Chengjun as he would be if he stayed put. “This servant was not thinking clearly,” he said apologetically.
“The matter of appointing a new Crown Prince is entirely in the Emperor’s hands. As for Chengjin, please watch out for him whilst I’m gone,” Xiao Chengjun said, giving Chang En a brocade box. It contained a few silver notes in large denominations, and it was enough to maintain the Min Wang mansion for three whole years.
“Certainly,” Chang En said, taking the box and the list of people. He left to make the arrangements for the people who were to accompany Min Wang to Minzhou.
Most of the servants of the Min Wang residence were to remain in the Capital. Xiao Chengjun decided to bring An Shun, Le Xian, his butler and his family, and a few of his strategists.
“Wang ye, Lord Cai of the Ministry of Personnel seeks an audience,” a guard reported. The Lord Cai he referred to was Cai Yi, who was previously Xiao Chengjun’s Minister of the Crown Prince’s Affairs.
Ever since Xiao Chengjun had been deposed, Cai Yi had not come to visit, and he had been roundly scolded by his uncle, Yang Youting, for being an ungrateful fellow. Over the New Year, Yang Youting had given Cai Yi the cold shoulder as well.
“Dianxia,” Cai Yi said, entering the study. He strode forward quickly and knelt before Xiao Chengjun.
“Pa’r ubbv atja sbe’gf tfgf. P tjnf rbwfatlcu P cffv ab fcagera ab sbe,” Wljb Jtfcupec rjlv, cba fnfc ibbxlcu eq. Ktlr kjr atf atlgv qfgrbc abvjs ktb tjv mbwf obgkjgv ab jrx ab jmmbwqjcs tlw ab Zlchtbe. Lf vlvc’a ybatfg qfgrejvlcu tlw batfgklrf, jcv rlwqis pera ujnf tlw j ajrx atja tf cffvfv vbcf lc atf Jjqlaji.
At the time Xiao Chengjun left the Eastern Palace, he had told all his officials clearly that they could seek other official positions. However, it wasn’t only military officials who couldn’t serve two masters; the same principle applied to civil officials as well. These Eastern Palace officials were, at the end of the day, people who had once been loyal to the deposed Crown Prince, and would certainly meet with a lot of difficulty in the Imperial Court. If they wanted to go far in their careers, they still had to try and help their original master onto the throne.
Cai Yi was born into a good family, and he had a bright future even without his connection to Xiao Chengjun. However, he was someone who was genuinely loyal to Xiao Chengjun, and was willing to walk any road with him, even if it meant that he had to go through hell and high water. “The Southeast is a desolate place, and there aren’t many scholars there to begin with. You don’t have anyone to be your Chief of Staff there. Please let Chen accompany you,” he said.
“Cai Yi, you’ve always been very astute in your observations. You should be clear about the current situation as well,” Xiao Chengjun said, after instructing him on the task that he needed Cai Yi to execute. “The Southeast is sparsely populated, but it’s also because of that that things are much simpler there. The Capital is a much more dangerous place than the Southeast, and I want you to remain here to take care of things here.”
Cai Yi was stunned. He had never thought that Xiao Chengjun held him in such high regard.
Xiao Chengjun was very tired after his busy day. His people in the Capital were all clamouring to demonstrate their loyalty to him. Familiar and unfamiliar faces alike came forward to give him departure gifts, and the Min Wang residence bustled with activity the whole day.
Lou Jing didn’t join him for dinner that night, and Xiao Chengjun himself didn’t have much of an appetite, so he just ate a simple dinner and continued working in his study.
The lamps were burning brightly in the Min Wang residence when Lou Jing finally flipped over the wall, smelling very strongly of alcohol.
“You went drinking again?” Xiao Chengjun asked, pushing aside the human taffy that had stuck itself to him and pointing him toward the bathroom.
“This is for you,” Lou Jing said, thrusting a little box into his hands. He then turned and headed to the bathroom to take a bath.
Xiao Chengjun looked at the box in confusion. It was a very ordinary looking box, and the workmanship looked rather rough and shoddy. Only a layer of clear glaze had been applied over the box, and there was no other design on it. He opened the box and was immediately stunned by what he saw. A stack of silver notes that had been folded into two sat quietly in the little box.
These silver notes were from the Baofeng Bank. They were accepted in every prefecture in the Empire. There were fifteen silver notes in the box, and together, they were worth three hundred thousand taels of silver!
Three thousand taels of silver was a large sum. Even his salary as a Qinwang was only about three hundred and fifty taels of silver per year, and Lou Jing, as a third-ranked official, would earn much less. Lou Jing’s own salary was probably less than two hundred taels of silver per year.
Xiao Chengjun gripped the little wooden box in his hand and turned to walk toward the bathroom. Warm steam filled the room behind the screen, and the silhouette of a person could be faintly seen in the flickering candlelight. The sound of gently splashing water, coupled with this misty scene, could easily lead one’s thoughts astray.
Xiao Chengjun went around the screen and saw the person in the bathtub reclining against the bathtub wall with his eyes closed. Steam swirled around his incredibly handsome face, which was a little pink and flushed from the heat. His long, black hair fanned out around him in the bath water, blocking the alluring little pink cherries on his chest.
Xiao Chengjun completely forgot what he wanted to say on seeing this scene. He could only stare at Lou Jing, mesmerized by the sight. They rarely bathed together; usually, he would bathe first, and then Lou Jing would bathe after he was done. Even after they made love, he was always so exhausted that he barely opened his eyes, and Lou Jing had been the one to carry him to the bathroom to bathe. He was in no condition to appreciate Lou Jing’s beauty during those times. Today was the first day he was looking at Lou Jing in the bath whilst in full possession of his faculties.
“Dianxia, are you pleased with what you see?” Lou Jing asked, extending a hand and placing it on the side of the bathtub, smiling faintly at Min Wang.
Xiao Chengjun coughed lightly and collected himself. He set down the little wooden box on a small table next to the wall. “These silver notes…” he began.
“I haven’t received the returns from Jiangnan in full, and I’ve also invested quite a bit in the summer palace construction, so this is all I have on hand right now. Take this first,” Lou Jing said, reaching out a hand and gently caressing Xiao Chengjun’s palm. His hand was covered in sparkling little water droplets. “When I’ve got all the money back, I’ll send more to you.”
“No,” Xiao Chengjun said, pulling his hand back at the ticklish sensation. “I don’t lack funds, and in any event, how can I take your money?”
“Money is earned to be spent. I don’t need all that much in the Capital,” Lou Jing said, grasping Xiao Chengjun’s hand. He had made this money for Xiao Chengjun because he knew he would need a lot of silver when he went over to Minzhou. If it wasn’t for this, he wouldn’t have taken such big risks to make money.
Xiao Chengjun knew this, and it was precisely because he understood this all too well that he felt his heart ache for Lou Jing. “Zhuoyu, I’m not together with you because of…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Lou Jing pulled Xiao Chengjun into the bathtub, creating a huge splash. The bathtub had already been filled to the brim when Lou Jing was in it, and now that another grown man had been added into the bathtub, the water overflowed and ran onto the floor.
Xiao Chengjun wasn’t wearing thick winter robes in the house because the interior was warmed with coal braziers, but he was still wearing quite a few layers. They were now all completely wet. Before he could react, Lou Jing held the back of his neck and sealed his lips with his own.
“You can be thrifty at home, but when you’re outside, it’s always better to have more money on your person,” Lou Jing said, pulling away slightly and cupping his hands around Xiao Chengjun’s face. “You’re my husband, and what’s mine is yours. You’re not to say things like that again.”
Xiao Chengjun felt his eyes redden with emotion. He reached out and hugged Lou Jing tight. “I, Xiao Chengjun, swear to do right by you in this life!” he declared.
Lou Jing nodded slowly. The two looked at each other with deep emotion in their eyes, then started kissing each other passionately. As they kissed, Lou Jing pulled off Xiao Chengjun’s wet outer layers and tossed them out of the bathtub.
Xiao Chengjun was now wearing only his thin innermost layer. The warm water had turned the pale blue cloth translucent, and two alluring little pink dots could be seen indistinctly through the wet material.
Lou Jing felt his throat tighten with desire. He used a finger to caress one of the little beans through the wet undershirt, and the other hand slid into Xiao Chengjun’s drenched underpants.
Things had progressed too quickly, and Lou Jing didn’t have time to go and get that special balm. He pulled Xiao Chengjun into his arms, and after massaging that secret place between the two round cheeks, squeezed a finger into his body.
“Mmph…” The finger had pushed a little of the warm bathwater into his body, and Xiao Chengjun trembled slightly, frowning a little in discomfort.
“Does it hurt?” Lou Jing asked. He was being very careful because he was worried that Xiao Chengjun would feel pain if he didn’t use the balm.
The warm water went some way toward lubricating the dryness in Xiao Chengjun’s passageway, and he thus shook his head and let Lou Jing add in another finger. “Before we’re married again, I owe you, and so I’ll give in to you, until… nn…” Xiao Chengjun panted as he said this.
“I know Dianxia cherishes me dearly,” Lou Jing said, smiling lightly as he gently bit one of Xiao Chengjun’s red little ears. “Yuanlang, you’ll be miles away from me, with many mountains and rivers between us. You’d better not get charmed by someone else whilst we’re apart.”
“I won’t,” Xiao Chengjun said, a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead. He didn’t know if he was sweating because of the discomfort he felt or because of the warmth and humidity in the bathroom.
“If, in future, I don’t want you to take in concubines in your hougong, would you agree?” Lou Jing asked. His fingers moved in and out of Xiao Chengjun’s body, and his other hand moved forward to grasp Xiao Chengjun’s member, using his lightly callused middle finger to rub the sensitive tip insistently.
“Mm… I…” Xiao Chengjun wanted to say something, but couldn’t form a coherent sentence in his brain any more. He suspected that Lou Jing actually didn’t have any intention of making him answer that question.
Lou Jing sighed gently. Asking the Emperor not to take in concubines meant that there would be no Imperial descendents. This was just a pipe dream of his. He knew that, but when he thought about Xiao Chengjun having children with other women, he couldn’t help moving his hands with greater force.
“Ah… it hurts!”
The fingers inside Xiao Chengjun had suddenly pushed in more forcefully, and he couldn’t help crying out in a low voice.
Lou Jing quickly pulled his fingers out and kissed his cheeks. “I’m sorry…” he said. He waited until Xiao Chengjun had fully relaxed again before impaling him on his stiff member.
Without the balm, Xiao Chengjun was in such pain that he made two red lines as he bit down on Lou Jing’s shoulder.
The sorrow they felt at their impending separation made both of them lose control. They continued until the bathwater became cold, and even after that, they carried on this madness in bed until the night watchman beat his gong three times.
“Yuanlang, yuanlang…” Lou Jing said softly, holding the person who had fallen into a deep sleep in his arms tightly. He had fallen completely for this man, heart, body and soul. He had even put the Lou family’s reputation at risk for this man.
Xiao Chengjun made a vague sound in his sleep and subconsciously grabbed hold of Lou Jing’s arm.
Oh well, Lou Jing thought, unable to stop himself from smiling gently. He planted a soft kiss on his husband’s sweaty temples. Even if the Lou family is ruined, even if I lose my life, I would not regret this decision
Lou Jing was silent for a moment. “I still need to settle some things in the Capital, so I can’t accompany you,” he finally said, his voice sounding a little hoarse.
It was too obvious for him to head south with Xiao Chengjun. He would likely arouse the Emperor’s suspicions even if he sought leave on the pretext of visiting his Jiujiu in Lingnan, because the incident with the Third Prince over the New Year had reached the Emperor’s ears, and the Emperor had already heard the rumours that he and Xiao Chengjun were still carrying on a personal relationship. If he made any move to accompany Xiao Chengjun now, that would set that rumour in stone.
“I know…” Xiao Chengjun said, sighing. The last time they’d been apart, it had only been eight days, but it felt like eight years. After his departure to Minzhou, who knew when they would be able to see each other again?
They both felt rather melancholy after talking about their impending separation.
The next day, Xiao Chengjun started to prepare the things he needed to bring to Minzhou.
There were two routes one could take from the Capital to Minzhou. The first was to go through the Central Plains, and if he took that route, he would pass through Qingzhou and Jiangzhou. If he took the second route, he would pass through Jiangnan. The latter route had better scenery, but it was much longer, and Xiao Chengjun didn’t want to do anything that would set tongues wagging. He thus chose the Central Plains route.
Xiao Chengjun looked at the list of people who were to come with him to Minzhou, and he frowned slightly, raising a brush to cancel out around ten entries or so. “Going to my fief isn’t like leaving the palace to set up a new residence. These people can all stay in the Capital,” he said.
Chang En nodded in acknowledgment. He hesitated for a moment, then fell on his knees before Xiao Chengjun. “This old servant has served Dianxia for ten over years now. Dianxia, please let this old servant accompany you to Minzhou,” he said.
“Please don’t make things more difficult,” Xiao Chengjun said, rubbing his temples and gesturing for Chang En to rise. “I need you here to take care of things in the Capital, like the gifts that need to be sent and to pass me news from the Capital. If you came with me to the Southeast, who would I trust to do all this?”
Chang En couldn’t insist on going with his master after hearing this. He had indeed been the one who always managed relations with the palace, and if he left the Capital, he wouldn’t be as useful to Xiao Chengjun as he would be if he stayed put. “This servant was not thinking clearly,” he said apologetically.
“The matter of appointing a new Crown Prince is entirely in the Emperor’s hands. As for Chengjin, please watch out for him whilst I’m gone,” Xiao Chengjun said, giving Chang En a brocade box. It contained a few silver notes in large denominations, and it was enough to maintain the Min Wang mansion for three whole years.
“Certainly,” Chang En said, taking the box and the list of people. He left to make the arrangements for the people who were to accompany Min Wang to Minzhou.
Most of the servants of the Min Wang residence were to remain in the Capital. Xiao Chengjun decided to bring An Shun, Le Xian, his butler and his family, and a few of his strategists.
“Wang ye, Lord Cai of the Ministry of Personnel seeks an audience,” a guard reported. The Lord Cai he referred to was Cai Yi, who was previously Xiao Chengjun’s Minister of the Crown Prince’s Affairs.
Ever since Xiao Chengjun had been deposed, Cai Yi had not come to visit, and he had been roundly scolded by his uncle, Yang Youting, for being an ungrateful fellow. Over the New Year, Yang Youting had given Cai Yi the cold shoulder as well.
“Dianxia,” Cai Yi said, entering the study. He strode forward quickly and knelt before Xiao Chengjun.
“Pa’r ubbv atja sbe’gf tfgf. P tjnf rbwfatlcu P cffv ab fcagera ab sbe,” Wljb Jtfcupec rjlv, cba fnfc ibbxlcu eq. Ktlr kjr atf atlgv qfgrbc abvjs ktb tjv mbwf obgkjgv ab jrx ab jmmbwqjcs tlw ab Zlchtbe. Lf vlvc’a ybatfg qfgrejvlcu tlw batfgklrf, jcv rlwqis pera ujnf tlw j ajrx atja tf cffvfv vbcf lc atf Jjqlaji.
At the time Xiao Chengjun left the Eastern Palace, he had told all his officials clearly that they could seek other official positions. However, it wasn’t only military officials who couldn’t serve two masters; the same principle applied to civil officials as well. These Eastern Palace officials were, at the end of the day, people who had once been loyal to the deposed Crown Prince, and would certainly meet with a lot of difficulty in the Imperial Court. If they wanted to go far in their careers, they still had to try and help their original master onto the throne.
Cai Yi was born into a good family, and he had a bright future even without his connection to Xiao Chengjun. However, he was someone who was genuinely loyal to Xiao Chengjun, and was willing to walk any road with him, even if it meant that he had to go through hell and high water. “The Southeast is a desolate place, and there aren’t many scholars there to begin with. You don’t have anyone to be your Chief of Staff there. Please let Chen accompany you,” he said.
“Cai Yi, you’ve always been very astute in your observations. You should be clear about the current situation as well,” Xiao Chengjun said, after instructing him on the task that he needed Cai Yi to execute. “The Southeast is sparsely populated, but it’s also because of that that things are much simpler there. The Capital is a much more dangerous place than the Southeast, and I want you to remain here to take care of things here.”
Cai Yi was stunned. He had never thought that Xiao Chengjun held him in such high regard.
Xiao Chengjun was very tired after his busy day. His people in the Capital were all clamouring to demonstrate their loyalty to him. Familiar and unfamiliar faces alike came forward to give him departure gifts, and the Min Wang residence bustled with activity the whole day.
Lou Jing didn’t join him for dinner that night, and Xiao Chengjun himself didn’t have much of an appetite, so he just ate a simple dinner and continued working in his study.
The lamps were burning brightly in the Min Wang residence when Lou Jing finally flipped over the wall, smelling very strongly of alcohol.
“You went drinking again?” Xiao Chengjun asked, pushing aside the human taffy that had stuck itself to him and pointing him toward the bathroom.
“This is for you,” Lou Jing said, thrusting a little box into his hands. He then turned and headed to the bathroom to take a bath.
Xiao Chengjun looked at the box in confusion. It was a very ordinary looking box, and the workmanship looked rather rough and shoddy. Only a layer of clear glaze had been applied over the box, and there was no other design on it. He opened the box and was immediately stunned by what he saw. A stack of silver notes that had been folded into two sat quietly in the little box.
These silver notes were from the Baofeng Bank. They were accepted in every prefecture in the Empire. There were fifteen silver notes in the box, and together, they were worth three hundred thousand taels of silver!
Three thousand taels of silver was a large sum. Even his salary as a Qinwang was only about three hundred and fifty taels of silver per year, and Lou Jing, as a third-ranked official, would earn much less. Lou Jing’s own salary was probably less than two hundred taels of silver per year.
Xiao Chengjun gripped the little wooden box in his hand and turned to walk toward the bathroom. Warm steam filled the room behind the screen, and the silhouette of a person could be faintly seen in the flickering candlelight. The sound of gently splashing water, coupled with this misty scene, could easily lead one’s thoughts astray.
Xiao Chengjun went around the screen and saw the person in the bathtub reclining against the bathtub wall with his eyes closed. Steam swirled around his incredibly handsome face, which was a little pink and flushed from the heat. His long, black hair fanned out around him in the bath water, blocking the alluring little pink cherries on his chest.
Xiao Chengjun completely forgot what he wanted to say on seeing this scene. He could only stare at Lou Jing, mesmerized by the sight. They rarely bathed together; usually, he would bathe first, and then Lou Jing would bathe after he was done. Even after they made love, he was always so exhausted that he barely opened his eyes, and Lou Jing had been the one to carry him to the bathroom to bathe. He was in no condition to appreciate Lou Jing’s beauty during those times. Today was the first day he was looking at Lou Jing in the bath whilst in full possession of his faculties.
“Dianxia, are you pleased with what you see?” Lou Jing asked, extending a hand and placing it on the side of the bathtub, smiling faintly at Min Wang.
Xiao Chengjun coughed lightly and collected himself. He set down the little wooden box on a small table next to the wall. “These silver notes…” he began.
“I haven’t received the returns from Jiangnan in full, and I’ve also invested quite a bit in the summer palace construction, so this is all I have on hand right now. Take this first,” Lou Jing said, reaching out a hand and gently caressing Xiao Chengjun’s palm. His hand was covered in sparkling little water droplets. “When I’ve got all the money back, I’ll send more to you.”
“No,” Xiao Chengjun said, pulling his hand back at the ticklish sensation. “I don’t lack funds, and in any event, how can I take your money?”
“Money is earned to be spent. I don’t need all that much in the Capital,” Lou Jing said, grasping Xiao Chengjun’s hand. He had made this money for Xiao Chengjun because he knew he would need a lot of silver when he went over to Minzhou. If it wasn’t for this, he wouldn’t have taken such big risks to make money.
Xiao Chengjun knew this, and it was precisely because he understood this all too well that he felt his heart ache for Lou Jing. “Zhuoyu, I’m not together with you because of…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Lou Jing pulled Xiao Chengjun into the bathtub, creating a huge splash. The bathtub had already been filled to the brim when Lou Jing was in it, and now that another grown man had been added into the bathtub, the water overflowed and ran onto the floor.
Xiao Chengjun wasn’t wearing thick winter robes in the house because the interior was warmed with coal braziers, but he was still wearing quite a few layers. They were now all completely wet. Before he could react, Lou Jing held the back of his neck and sealed his lips with his own.
“You can be thrifty at home, but when you’re outside, it’s always better to have more money on your person,” Lou Jing said, pulling away slightly and cupping his hands around Xiao Chengjun’s face. “You’re my husband, and what’s mine is yours. You’re not to say things like that again.”
Xiao Chengjun felt his eyes redden with emotion. He reached out and hugged Lou Jing tight. “I, Xiao Chengjun, swear to do right by you in this life!” he declared.
Lou Jing nodded slowly. The two looked at each other with deep emotion in their eyes, then started kissing each other passionately. As they kissed, Lou Jing pulled off Xiao Chengjun’s wet outer layers and tossed them out of the bathtub.
Xiao Chengjun was now wearing only his thin innermost layer. The warm water had turned the pale blue cloth translucent, and two alluring little pink dots could be seen indistinctly through the wet material.
Lou Jing felt his throat tighten with desire. He used a finger to caress one of the little beans through the wet undershirt, and the other hand slid into Xiao Chengjun’s drenched underpants.
Things had progressed too quickly, and Lou Jing didn’t have time to go and get that special balm. He pulled Xiao Chengjun into his arms, and after massaging that secret place between the two round cheeks, squeezed a finger into his body.
“Mmph…” The finger had pushed a little of the warm bathwater into his body, and Xiao Chengjun trembled slightly, frowning a little in discomfort.
“Does it hurt?” Lou Jing asked. He was being very careful because he was worried that Xiao Chengjun would feel pain if he didn’t use the balm.
The warm water went some way toward lubricating the dryness in Xiao Chengjun’s passageway, and he thus shook his head and let Lou Jing add in another finger. “Before we’re married again, I owe you, and so I’ll give in to you, until… nn…” Xiao Chengjun panted as he said this.
“I know Dianxia cherishes me dearly,” Lou Jing said, smiling lightly as he gently bit one of Xiao Chengjun’s red little ears. “Yuanlang, you’ll be miles away from me, with many mountains and rivers between us. You’d better not get charmed by someone else whilst we’re apart.”
“I won’t,” Xiao Chengjun said, a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead. He didn’t know if he was sweating because of the discomfort he felt or because of the warmth and humidity in the bathroom.
“If, in future, I don’t want you to take in concubines in your hougong, would you agree?” Lou Jing asked. His fingers moved in and out of Xiao Chengjun’s body, and his other hand moved forward to grasp Xiao Chengjun’s member, using his lightly callused middle finger to rub the sensitive tip insistently.
“Mm… I…” Xiao Chengjun wanted to say something, but couldn’t form a coherent sentence in his brain any more. He suspected that Lou Jing actually didn’t have any intention of making him answer that question.
Lou Jing sighed gently. Asking the Emperor not to take in concubines meant that there would be no Imperial descendents. This was just a pipe dream of his. He knew that, but when he thought about Xiao Chengjun having children with other women, he couldn’t help moving his hands with greater force.
“Ah… it hurts!”
The fingers inside Xiao Chengjun had suddenly pushed in more forcefully, and he couldn’t help crying out in a low voice.
Lou Jing quickly pulled his fingers out and kissed his cheeks. “I’m sorry…” he said. He waited until Xiao Chengjun had fully relaxed again before impaling him on his stiff member.
Without the balm, Xiao Chengjun was in such pain that he made two red lines as he bit down on Lou Jing’s shoulder.
The sorrow they felt at their impending separation made both of them lose control. They continued until the bathwater became cold, and even after that, they carried on this madness in bed until the night watchman beat his gong three times.
“Yuanlang, yuanlang…” Lou Jing said softly, holding the person who had fallen into a deep sleep in his arms tightly. He had fallen completely for this man, heart, body and soul. He had even put the Lou family’s reputation at risk for this man.
Xiao Chengjun made a vague sound in his sleep and subconsciously grabbed hold of Lou Jing’s arm.
Oh well, Lou Jing thought, unable to stop himself from smiling gently. He planted a soft kiss on his husband’s sweaty temples. Even if the Lou family is ruined, even if I lose my life, I would not regret this decision
