CH 73

Trade Him for a Million Troops

In Ciren Palace, a beautiful woman in a fancy dress sat on the main seat. When she heard the palace maid say that her son had arrived, she got up without thinking and greeted him joyfully.

Yan Huo Heng entered and met the Empress Dowager, and bowed in a disciplined manner.

“Heng’er is here, Mother has been waiting for you for a long time.” Empress Dowager Heng was over forty years old and had a gentle temperament. She helped her son up and pulled Yan Huo Heng to the tea table, smiling, “Heng’er, sit down quickly, you’re just in time, the imperial kitchen has brought two plates of dim sum, hibiscus cake, and water peach buns, try them."

Yan Huo Heng obediently sat down and took the dim sum handed to him by Empress Dowager Heng: "Thank you very much, Empress Dowager."

Although they were mother and son by birth, they were not as close as they seemed due to their past experiences, and this was the disconnect in Yan Huo Heng's heart and the pain in Empress Dowager's heart.

Yan Huo Heng put the dim sum in his mouth and took a small bite, savouring the taste.

The Empress Dowager looked at his handsome face and said in a soft voice, "I heard that you will be returning to the border in a few days?"

Yan Hup Heng: “En."

Empress Dowager Heng's eyes showed her reluctance: "You have been fighting at the border for many years and you have only been back for a few days, yet you are going back without even having the time to marry a wife. Your royal brother too, he had to marry a male queen and now he doesn't even have an heir."

Yan Huo Heng: "You asked this son to advise him, and this son has already done so."

The Empress Dowager knew what had happened at the birthday banquet. The woman with the same eyes and eyebrows as Ning Zhiyu had been saved by Yan Huo Heng by chance from mountain bandits on his way back to the capital, and when the Empress Dowager asked him to do so, Yan Huo Heng had given her to Yan Yuan as a birthday gift, causing him to become furious.

Empress Dowager Heng sighed, “Ei, Empress Dowager knows. Although I have raised His Majesty to adulthood, I am not His Majesty's own mother, so I cannot influence him too much. He has not been ungrateful in respecting our family, so Empress Dowager cannot ask for anything more. If he hadn't saved your life back then, Empress Dowager would have lost her own Heng'er, and would not have had the good life she has today."

Yan Huo Heng had heard these words many times before, and he knew that the Empress Dowager was reminding him not to be ungrateful. Compared to her own son, she might be more affectionate towards her adopted son, Yan Yuan.

"Hmm. If you have time, you should advise your brother more. The rest of the sons have gone to the fiefdoms, and now you two are the only ones who still see each other occasionally. One of you is a ruler and the other is a minister, you should hold the court in harmony so that the mountains will be safe and secure, and Empress Dowager will be relieved."

Yan Huo Heng's brow wrinkled imperceptibly: "I am not close to him."

The Empress Dowager was silent for a moment: "In the end, we can't force this matter, if you can't be brothers, it's good to be a ruler and a minister."

Yan Huo Heng asked, "What if we can’t even be a ruler and a minister?..."

The Empress Dowager froze: "What do you mean by that?"

In the end, Yan Huo Heng did not tell the Empress Dowager about Yan Yuan repeatedly sending people to assassinate him, and moved on from the topic.

Before leaving, the Empress Dowager grabbed his hand and said worriedly.

“Heng'er, you have reached an age when it is time for you to take a wife. Why don't you stay in Chang'an for a few more days and Empress Dowager will choose some suitable girls for you. If you like any of them, you can get married as soon as possible. I don't ask for a noble birth, but only for a virtuous and gentle woman who will treat you with sincerity."

Looking at the Empress Dowager's appearance, Yan Huo Heng's heart softened somewhat: "This son already has a sweetheart."

"Is that true?" The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up. "Which woman is she?"

Yan Huo Heng pursed his lips, "Not someone of high status."

The Empress Dowager was delighted and patted Yan Huo Heng's hand, "It doesn't matter, as long as you two love each other and the other is of good character, Empress Dowager will personally arrange for the marriage so that you can marry each other in an honourable manner. When will you bring them to Empress Dowager to see?"

“Hmm."

After leaving Ciren Palace, Yan Huo Heng went to Luanfeng Hall.

The Emperor loved the Empress so much that he was almost obsessed with him, which was well known to everyone in the palace. If he could deal with court affairs in Luanfeng Hall, Yan Yuan would not go elsewhere, so if he went there, he would definitely be able to find him.

In the evening, Ning Zhiyu sat in front of the bronze mirror in a thin silk robe after bathing, while Yan Yuan wiped his long, wet hair with a cloth.

The setting sun poured in through the window pane, casting a thin layer of light over the two of them. Ning Zhiyu looked at Yan Yuan in the bronze mirror with serious eyes and called softly, “A'Yuan..."

"Hm?"

Ning Zhiyu: "I can't find the silver hairpin you gave me on the day of the Qixi Festival."

Yan Yuan looked up: "How can it not be found? Is there someone in the palace who has dirty hands?"

Ning Zhiyu shook his head, "I don't think so... that hairpin isn't worth much compared to the rest of the objects, perhaps I had it on me and dropped it accidentally when I was walking around."

Yan Yuan paused and continued to wipe his wet hair, softly reassuring: "If it fell off, then it fell off. One day when I leave the palace, I will buy a new one exactly the same and give it to you."

Ning Zhiyu said, "But if you buy a new one, will it still be the same?..."

Yan Yuan looked up at the elegant and pale face of the person in the mirror and smiled, "As long as it is my gift to you, it will be the same as the original."

Ning Zhiyu smiled: "Mm."

At this time of night, it was not too cold, so it was not likely to catch a cold if you took a bath at this time of day. After drying Ning Zhiyu’s hair, Yan Yuan held him and walked to the bed.

Ning Zhiyu wrapped his arms around Yan Yuan's neck and leaned against his chest, his lips tinged with a smile: "I can walk on my own."

"I am willing to hold you." Yan Yuan's kiss fell on Ning Zhiyu's hair, and a light scent rushed into his nostrils, a scent that caused his brows to wrinkle slightly.

It didn't seem to be the smell he had imagined.

Recently, he had been seeing the man in his dreams quite often, but it was no longer limited to the gruesome scenes. He dreamt that the man seemed to be wounded, so he held him in his arms wherever he went and was happy to do so.

The other man had a scent that fascinated him, and in his dreams he always liked to rub himself against him and sniff him...

He must have been thinking too much.

Suppressing the strangeness in his mind, Yan Yuan placed Ning Zhiyu gently onto the bed, and as he straightened up, Ning Zhiyu grabbed his arm, “A'Yuan..."

It was a remarkable, inviting gesture.

Yan Yuan leaned over and kissed Ning Zhiyu's forehead.

"Good boy, you didn't sleep after lunch today, you must be tired. Rest quickly, wait until it's time for dinner and I'll come over to keep you company. Your medicine has run out, I have to go and fetch some for you."

Where should he go to fetch it? Qiankun Palace is the place to find it.

There were so many servants in the palace, so there was no need for Yan Yuan to go there personally. Was he going to fetch the dragon scales, or was he using the opportunity of fetching the dragon scales to meet with Xuan Long?...

Ning Zhiyu's white onion-like hands circled around Yan Yuan's waist, "I heard from Imperial Doctor Zong that there is a fertility pill in this world, after taking it... men will be able to conceive a child."

Yan Yuan was surprised, "There is such a medicine?"

Ning Zhiyu's clear eyes looked at him, the tips of her ears flushed red: “Mm. Do you want... to have a child with me."

Yan Yuan raised his hand to cover Ning Zhiyu's bloodless face, "With a body as weak as yours, how can you bear the pain of conceiving a child? You're not like Xuan Long, who has ten thousand years of Taoism, so he'll be fine no matter how he tosses and turns. Silly Ah Yu, we will wait until your body is well to talk about everything. I don't want you to suffer."

Ning Zhiyu's lips quirked, "But..."

"Good boy, rest now." Yan Yuan interrupted him gently, released Ning Zhiyu's hand from around his waist, lifted the quilt next to him, and covered him up.

Ning Zhiyu lay on the bed, looking at Yan Yuan's departing back, his eyes gradually reddening.

His grief was felt by the demon inhabiting his body.

The mocking voice rang out mercilessly:

"Look at you, you're hopeless."

"You've hinted so obviously and he's still indifferent, you're a failure."

"As for what... you want this honourable one to say, you can just put this Empress in jail, it is foolish to hand over so much of your heart."

Ning Zhiyu's gaze was hollow: "You've never loved... how do you know what it's like to love someone."

"How do you know that this honourable one has never loved?!" The other party suddenly became a little furious.

"...When this honourable one was alive, there were no less than a hundred demon concubines around him. It was always those demons who loved this honourable one to death, but this honourable one did not bother to love others. Only those who have no one to love need to go to such lengths to please others."

Ning Zhiyu closed his eyes, not bothering to pay any further attention to him.

When Yan Yuan went out, he bumped into Yan Huo Heng. The latter was dressed in a python robe, wearing a silver crown, his gaze was as unmoving as a deep pond, “This minister sees Your Majesty."

Yan Yuan looked down on him and said coldly, "What is it?"

Yan Huo Heng's back was straight, his head hung low, and his calm voice was unhurried, "I have reached an age where it is time for me to take a wife, so today I have come to ask Your Majesty to grant me a marriage."

"Oh?" Yan Yuan hooked his lips and showed a bit of interest, "Which noble daughter do you have your eye on?"

He would like to see which one of the court officials’ daughters Yan Huo Heng is planning to marry now that he has millions of troops in his hands. The other party must be of high status in order to join forces with him and help him shake up the dynasty.

Yan Huo Heng slowly raised his head and met Yan Yuan's amused gaze without hesitation, "That night when we met for a few moments in the promenade of the Hall of Peace, I have been thinking about that person and cannot forget him."

"I want to marry Han Po as the princess."

Yan Yuan's smile froze for a moment and his eyes became dangerous: "When did you meet him?"

If I were to say in a previous life, would you believe me?

Yan Huo Heng was silent for a moment, "A long time ago."

Yan Yuan crouched down on one knee, gazed into those narrow black eyes, moved closer to Yan Huo Heng's ear and said in a voice that only they could hear: "Do you know, Imperial Brother, that was my couch's favorite pet... and that I fucked him from inside out over and over again?"

Yan Huo Heng's gaze darkened: "I know."

Yan Yuan let out a sharp laugh and let go of him to stand up: "Since when does Imperial Brother have a taste for wearing broken shoes?"

Yan Huo Heng: "If you meet a good man, the rest are just empty."

Yan Yuan's teeth were clenched and the violence under his eyes gradually leaked out, "Yan Huo Heng... you seek death. My broken shoes, even if I don't want them... it's not your turn to wear them."

Yan Huo Heng lifted his dark. well-like eyes: "What about trading him for a million troops?"