Bai Yi struggled to get up, but a large hand pressed him back down without a word. He looked at Xiao Shiyun through his mask, confused. Could this not wait until we got back tonight?
Xiao Shiyun pulled Bai Yi tighter into his embrace and turned toward the Empress Dowager. With a shallow smile curling his lips, he said, “The Empress Dowager just said I would grow old alone. She claimed that without her matchmaking, no one would ever love me?”
He lowered his dark, unreadable eyes, which now reflected Bai Yi’s shadow. In front of the entire assembly, he asked, “Tell me, do you love me?”
Bai Yi was stunned. He had not expected this situation, but he remembered the mission the Old Scoundrel had given him: make Xiao Shiyun fall in love with him so he could go home.
And so, Bai Yi began his performance. He leaned his head against Xiao Shiyun’s shoulder and traced small circles on his chest with his finger. Lowering his voice to a clear, gentle tone, he said, “This servant fell for Your Majesty at first sight. From that moment on, my heart could never hold anyone else.”
The hand holding him loosened for a fraction of a second. Bai Yi felt Xiao Shiyun take a deep breath as if he wanted to throw him out, but a quick glance revealed that Xiao Shiyun’s earlobes were turning a deep red.
Xiao Shiyun’s voice remained flat as he continued, “Are you willing to enter my harem?”
Determined to see the act through, Bai Yi said shyly, “I am willing. I shall do whatever Your Majesty says.”
“Where is the decorum? Where is the decorum!” The Empress Dowager pointed at Xiao Shiyun, her face darkening as she scolded him. “You would rather hold a lowly dancer than approach those noble, well-bred daughters of high families. I see your heart has been bewitched by this fox spirit!”
Bai Yi looked up and spoke through his mask. “But I truly love His Majesty. I believe love should not be divided by status or wealth. As long as a heart is sincere, it is more precious than any calculated, hollow promise of affection.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Bai Yi had no intention of shutting up. He had been annoyed earlier when this old woman claimed Xiao Shiyun would die alone. Did she have any idea how many people would flock to him in university with a face like that?
He threw himself into Xiao Shiyun’s arms and sobbed into his chest. “Your Majesty, I am not worthy of loving you. I am so lowly; what right do I have to stay by your side? Please, Your Majesty, let me go.”
Xiao Shiyun picked Bai Yi up in a horizontal carry. As he passed the Empress Dowager, he said with satisfaction, “I do not grant permission. The Empress Dowager need not worry about the matters of my harem. As for my person, only I have the right to judge him.”
Ignoring the shock of the assembled ministers, Xiao Shiyun left the scene with a graceful stride, not sparing them a single glance.
Guo Fu followed behind with a warm smile to settle the aftermath. Flicking his fly whisk, he announced the imperial decree. “The Emperor says that all ministers may drink freely tonight. Tomorrow shall be a day of rest. Enjoy yourselves before you return.”
With that, Guo Fu also made a graceful exit, leaving the Empress Dowager, whose face was twisted with rage, to preside over the remains of the banquet.
The Empress Dowager smashed her cup. Li Xiu, the Prince of Liuyue, having seen enough of the drama, asked with mock concern, “The Empress Dowager’s cup has fallen. Why have you not brought a new one for Her Majesty?”
A servant immediately placed a new wine cup on her table. Li Xiu poured himself a drink and stood to toast her. “I admire the Empress Dowager immensely; words cannot describe it. Though I am not a strong drinker, I must finish this cup. I beg the Empress Dowager’s permission to retire and rest.”
He drained his glass and, once allowed to leave the hall, began to laugh uncontrollably until tears came to his eyes. Xiao Shiyun was even more headstrong than he was as a child.
Li Xiu encountered Bai Yi and Xiao Shiyun at a corner of the palace gates. To be precise, he was eavesdropping on them. He ducked behind a decorative rock, but a second later, his eyes widened and his buzz vanished. He saw the dancer strike Xiao Shiyun across the face.
The situation was this: the moment Xiao Shiyun carried Bai Yi out of the hall and took a single step away, he dropped him onto the ground. He immediately reverted to his expressionless self, as if everything that had happened at the banquet was a dream.
Bai Yi winced in pain and stood up while rubbing his backside. Remembering he was supposed to seduce Xiao Shiyun, he forced himself to swallow the insults on the tip of his tongue.
“You have a problem! You just said you were putting me in the harem, and now you turn hostile?”
Xiao Shiyun removed the gold mask from Bai Yi’s face and threw it onto the ground, revealing Bai Yi’s delicate but determined face. He wanted to pick the mask back up and put it on Bai Yi again, as if the mask could hide his foolishness and turn him back into the sharp-tongued, charming fox from moments ago.
Xiao Shiyun asked, “I say I am putting you in the harem and you just agree? Why are you so cheap? You agree to whatever anyone says. If a prince from another kingdom comes tomorrow and offers to buy you, would you just follow him too?”
“Then I am not going in. Keep the harem for your other concubines.” Bai Yi retreated as easily as he had advanced. He had no real concept of a harem; it felt like playing house to him.
Xiao Shiyun’s face darkened as he glared at Bai Yi. “You think you can just choose not to enter? Did I give you permission?”
If I say yes, you are unhappy, and if I say no, you are unhappy. Bai Yi reminded himself of his mission. Endure for a moment for calm seas; retreat a step to travel through time. Do not get angry, do not get angry.
“If I enter the harem, can I even be your consort? Even if there are precedents for former Emperors taking male favorites, can you accept that? You have never even been in a relationship. How about I teach you?”
Although the terminology was different from that of the Northern Realm, Xiao Shiyun roughly understood what Bai Yi meant by “being in a relationship.” He pressed forward, questioning, “What, are you saying you have been in many relationships and have a lot of experience?”
It would not do for both of them to have zero romantic history. To save face, Bai Yi said naturally, “Of course. Back in the day, the people confessing to me stretched from the North to the South. My history is anything but empty; it is quite rich.”
Xiao Shiyun was at a loss for words. He gave a cold laugh. “If I ever liked you, I would have to be blind. I would rather slap myself than like you.”
Before he could finish his sentence, a stinging slap landed on his face. Bai Yi shook his hand and grabbed Xiao Shiyun’s collar. “I slapped you for yourself. Xiao Shiyun, you have to like me!”
If you do not like me, I cannot go home! Bai Yi cried inwardly.
Xiao Shiyun was stunned. He allowed Bai Yi to pull him close in disbelief. When he snapped out of it, he said in embarrassed rage, “I will have your head for this!”
Bai Yi threw his arms around Xiao Shiyun’s neck, found the right spot, and pressed his lips straight against Xiao Shiyun’s. The soft contact felt like an electric shock, sending a tingle through them.
Xiao Shiyun’s ears instantly turned a blood red. Bai Yi felt nothing but the peak of his desire to go home; his eyes were closed, and his mind was focused entirely on the mission.
“Do you like me now?” Bai Yi asked.
Behind the rock, Li Xiu choked on his own spit and began to cough violently. As soon as he moved, a cold blade flew toward him like a silver dragon. Three plum-blossom steel blades embedded themselves three inches deep into the rock.
Li Xiu scrambled to beg for mercy. “Imperial Brother, it is me! I am leaving! Leaving right now!”
He ran away as fast as he could under Xiao Shiyun’s murderous gaze. Xiao Shiyun withdrew his hand and saw a frightened Bai Yi trying to escape. He grabbed the back of Bai Yi’s neck and lowered his head, speaking seriously for the first time. “It was you who provoked me first.”
Their faces slowly drew closer. Xiao Shiyun’s warm breath brushed against Bai Yi’s neck as he said in a dark voice, “I am not finished with you.”