Perhaps because of what Xu Jinbao had said, Yan Zhiyu had a dream that very night.
A vast, boundless expanse of pure white snow covered the world, pressing down upon the little red dots clinging to the plum branches, faintly revealing the pavilion hidden deep within the forest.
He was wearing the phoenix robes from his wedding day, but his belt had long since come undone, exposing a large expanse of his skin. Amidst the snow-white backdrop were ambiguous red marks, resembling plum blossoms that had drifted down only to be crushed by a pair of slender hands.
Those hands were large, bearing calluses left behind by years of martial arts practice, and the instant they brushed across his skin, his entire body trembled.
He looked down at the man half-kneeling before him, feeling as though a hole had been torn open in his heart. Countless grievances welled up, leaving a bitter and aching sensation.
“Do not leave,” he softly said. “Do not leave me all alone.”
Hearing this, Ling Lie merely smiled faintly, cupping the foot that Yan Zhiyu had pressed against the ground. He planted a gentle kiss upon the arch of the foot and said, “This subject is merely the Empress Dowager’s plaything. Wherever the Empress Dowager is, this subject shall be.”
“A plaything?” Yan Zhiyu felt somewhat unfamiliar with the term, but without dwelling on it, he extended a hand.
Ling Lie caught his hand, brought it up before him, and devoutly pressed a kiss to it.
Then came his wrist, his arm, winding upward like vines until reaching his lips to be tasted and savored thoroughly.
Afterward came the indescribable intimacy of cloud and rain, his slender white legs wrapped tightly around the man’s slender, muscular waist, reluctant to part.
When he woke up and caught the lingering scent of plum blossoms in the air, Yan Zhiyu felt somewhat dazed. The warmth from the dream seemed not to have dissipated yet, and he instinctively reached out to embrace the person beside him, only to wrap his arms around a small body instead.
Xiao Yunshuo was already fast asleep. Suddenly pulled into a tight embrace, he felt somewhat startled, so he turned over and hugged Yan Zhiyu back in return, speaking almost instinctively, “Daddy hug, A-Sue is here.”
The embarrassment that Yan Zhiyu had felt on account of that dream instantly vanished. While his heart warmed, a sharp ache bloomed within him as well, feeling as though he had walked through the bitter cold of midwinter with a body full of wounds, only to suddenly step into a warm indoor space where his previously numb injuries belatedly began to torment him, aching to the point that he could barely breathe.
It was clearly such an alluring dream, yet it felt like a nightmare.
He was never a particularly strong person to begin with. If not for his young son, he would have left alongside Ling Lie back then.
During this period, he had been struggling to learn how to be a good Empress Dowager, learning how to protect himself and his son, and learning to handle all those matters he had never once bothered with before. But there were simply too many tasks, pressing down on him until he didn’t even have the chance to catch his breath. He could only constantly ask and constantly wonder, walking on thin ice every step of the way.
He had thought that sooner or later he would grow accustomed to such days, but Ling Lie’s appearance instantly shattered all of it. He had put on layer after layer of armor, yet Ling Lie could effortlessly pierce right through them with just a few words.
He kept telling himself and thinking that he mustn’t let Ling Lie fall into danger, yet he hadn’t stopped him from eavesdropping at the door.
In the end, he simply wanted to act spoiled, wanted to lean on Ling Lie, and wanted to be the person protected by Ling Lie just like before.
It was simply that he was too weak.
“Daddy?” Feeling the body of the person holding him shake uncontrollably as if crying, Xiao Yunshuo felt somewhat blank for a moment before growing anxious. “Did Daddy have a nightmare?”
Yan Zhiyu shook his head, burying his face tightly in his son’s chest and refusing to show it.
Seeing this, Xiao Yunshuo wanted to turn around to look for his imperial father, but after grabbing at empty air, he remembered that his imperial father was not in the palace. Not knowing what else to do, he could only stretch out his little hands to hold Yan Zhiyu, gently patting Yan Zhiyu’s back just like Yan Zhiyu used to coax him, while humming a little tune under his breath.
With this round of comfort, Yan Zhiyu truly felt much better, and even found himself wanting to chuckle.
However, a child was still a child, and having been woken up like this, he was still sleepy. After patting Yan Zhiyu for a while, while Yan Zhiyu remained wide awake, the boy himself drifted off to sleep.
Yan Zhiyu lifted his face from the little fellow’s chest, brought his flushed nose close to rub against the soft flesh of the boy’s cheeks, and finally felt his heart settle. Breathing in that faint scent of plum blossoms, he fell back asleep.
This time, he dreamed again. It was still Ling Lie, still in that same pavilion. Ling Lie was holding his son, teaching him to recite a poem related to plum blossoms.
Xiao Yunshuo had play on his mind and recited the lines all out of order, yet Ling Lie showed infinite patience, teaching him phrase by phrase, over and over again.
When Yan Zhiyu walked over, Ling Lie raised his head to look at him and smiled. “Xiao Yu.”
“Why aren’t you studying inside the room? It is so cold outside,” Yan Zhiyu said as he walked over, shaking out a cloak to drape over him, and couldn’t help complaining, “You don’t even know how to wear more clothes. What will you do if you catch a cold?”
“If I catch a cold, I will just drink medicine.” Ling Lie leaned forward slightly, resting his forehead against Yan Zhiyu’s waist. “In any case, I have the Empress to dote on me.”
Yan Zhiyu curved his eyes and softly murmured, “Mn.”
Later, Ling Lie complained to him about the senior court ministers. He couldn’t hear the words very clearly, but his heart was filled with joy.
This was what he missed the most.
After waking up, the details from the dream were already somewhat hazy, but the poem Ling Lie had taught him remained firmly in his memory.
Glancing at the sky, he simply threw on a coat, got up, and walked over to the writing desk in his soft shoes to pick up a brush.
A single night of lovesickness brings the plum blossoms to bloom; suddenly looking toward the window, I almost mistake them for you.
The graceful handwriting fell upon the paper, inexplicably adding a lingering, tender depth of longing to the verse.
He missed Ling Lie.
“Someone come.” After a moment of thought, Yan Zhiyu called out, “Summon the Prince Regent to the palace!”
By this time, Xu Jinbao had already gone to rest, and it was his apprentice keeping watch. Hearing the order, the young eunuch stood frozen in place for a moment before finally regaining his wits and sprinting out the door.
When the eunuch arrived at the Prince Regent’s residence, Ling Lie had already fallen asleep. When Daoyun entered the room to wake him, his expression was somewhat displeased. “What business could there be this late at night?”
Daoyun was also somewhat perplexed, but honestly reported, “Someone has come from the palace, summoning the Prince Regent to enter.”
Ling Lie’s expression shifted. “Did they say what happened?”
Daoyun shook his head.
Ling Lie had no choice but to get up, throw on a robe, and step outside.
Although the young eunuch who had come also knew nothing, a large portion of his anxiety eased, and he turned back to change his clothes.
If a truly major disaster had occurred, this young eunuch would surely have been able to reveal at least a hint of it.
Nevertheless, he readied himself with the utmost speed and boarded the carriage heading toward the imperial palace.
At this hour, aside from the guards, very few people were moving about the palace. Outside the Fengyi Palace, only two palace maids waited in attendance.
Just as he was hesitating whether to have someone announce his arrival, the door suddenly swung open.
Yan Zhiyu stood inside draped in an outer garment, his eyes curved into crescents as he looked at him. Just like every late-returning night of the past, this sight instantly made him forget his previous hesitation, making him forget that he was merely a Prince Regent as he walked forward and gently pulled him into an embrace.
Yan Zhiyu stiffened, casting a swift glance at the guards stationed outside the palace doors.
The two palace maids had already tactfully closed the door, not daring to look any further.
He raised a hand to give Ling Lie a light push, so light it felt as though it merely brushed against his heart, and muttered a soft complaint, “Someone will see us.”
Ling Lie instantly released his hold, took half a step back, and looked at him with a smile. “The Empress Dowager summoning this subject to the palace in the dead of night, could it be to engage in a heart-to-heart discussion and deepen the bonds of ruler and subject?”
Finding the warmth in his arms suddenly gone, Yan Zhiyu felt somewhat unhappy. He pouted and looked at him with a grievance-filled gaze. “I. I just wanted to tell you that I agree to let you become His Majesty’s Grand Tutor.”
Ling Lie raised an eyebrow, performing a proper and formal bow toward Yan Zhiyu. “Thank you, Empress Dowager.”
Before he could even straighten back up, a figure carrying the scent of plum blossoms darted swiftly into his arms.
“You are infuriating,” Yan Zhiyu buried his face in his chest, his voice muffled. “I missed you.”
A smile bloomed in Ling Lie’s eyes as he lowered his gaze to look at him, asking, “Did you have a dream?”
Yan Zhiyu nodded, and his nose brushed against the scent emanating from Ling Lie, the medicinal scent characteristic of long-term illness, which was worlds away from his original scent.
He instantly released his grip, turned around, and fished out a set of Ling Lie’s old clothes from a chest, handing them over. “Change.”
Ling Lie hadn’t yet reacted. “Is this outfit I am wearing not good-looking?”
“It smells bad.” Yan Zhiyu shoved the clothes into his arms, telling him to change into them himself.
Helpless, Ling Lie could only obediently comply.
Ling Dong’s physique was much leaner than his own, and when he put the garments on, the waist was left with a large gap while the sleeves hung completely empty, his two arms dangling down like dead branches. Even he found the sight somewhat ghastly, let alone Yan Zhiyu.
Yan Zhiyu immediately ordered the imperial kitchen to send over food and dispatched someone to summon the imperial physician.
“Really, there is no need,” Ling Dong said with a helpless chuckle. “It is only by comparison that I look thin.”
Yan Zhiyu refused to believe him, simply pulling up a chair to sit beside him and keeping a close watch on both him and the physician.
His physical foundation was simply too poor. Aside from physical exercise, he needed all kinds of nourishing remedies to build up his health; to put it bluntly, it was a disease of luxury. In his early years, although his family possessed some meager means, they couldn’t afford a continuous supply of expensive tonics. Later, when he was recognized back into the imperial family, he was an unfavored member and naturally couldn’t acquire many fine resources, which was why his body had grown steadily worse.
But things were different now. The palace possessed no shortage of fine treasures; they could certainly afford to nourish him back to health.
Yan Zhiyu immediately had a pile of supplements sent over to the Prince Regent’s residence, though he still felt it wasn’t enough, adding, “From now on, come eat your meals inside the palace. I will instruct the imperial chefs to prepare more body-strengthening dishes.”
Seeing him bustling about so attentively, Ling Lie couldn’t help laughing softly. “Worry a little less.”
Yan Zhiyu’s steps paused as he turned to leave, and he frowned with displeasure.
“I will take my medicine on time, and I will eat properly too. You just need to take good care of yourself.” Ling Lie reached out to pull him by the hand, pressing him down to sit on the couch before turning aside to light an incense burner. “I know you are worried about my health, but these things cannot be achieved overnight.”
“I am not worried about you,” Yan Zhiyu said. “I am just aching for you, and I miss you.”
Ling Lie’s hand paused as he lit the incense, turning his head sideways to look at him.
He saw Yan Zhiyu drooping his brows and lashes. His face, which was already far from plump, had grown even thinner over these past few days, and his dark hair scattered around his cheeks, lending his naturally obedient face a fragile, pitiable air that tugged fiercely at the heartstrings.
Ling Lie truly had no countermeasure against him, so he could only accept his fate, walking over to squat down before him and speaking in a soft voice, “I will listen to you in everything.”
Only then did the corners of Yan Zhiyu’s lips curve upward in a smile. He gently hooked his finger around Ling Lie’s and asked, “Then do you want to hear what Xu Jinbao told me tonight?”
Ling Lie raised his eyes to look at him. “What is it?”
“He thought,” Yan Zhiyu drew out his tone, a teasing smile hidden within his soft, melting voice, “that my treating you well was because I wanted to take male concubines.”