If Xiao Shao Transmigrated to the Past Life 2

Qi Yan did not understand what Xiao Shao wanted to do.

He slept on the dragon bed right up until the Spring Equinox. His food and medicine were the very best, the imperial physicians came to examine him every night, and even Li Dequan was extremely submissive towards him, acting as if he treated him as another master.

Another master?

Qi Yan faintly found it laughable. Li Dequan was Xiao Shao's chief eunuch. In the entire Imperial Palace, the only ones he would formally call 'master' were probably the Emperor and the Empress.

He originally thought Xiao Shao had come up with a new way to torture him, or simply liked his face and wanted to play with him. However, although Xiao Shao shared a bed with him every night, he only held him. His actions were gentle and restrained, not overstepping the bounds by a single fraction.

Over time, Qi Yan even began to long for this embrace.

Carefully nourished with good food and good medicine, the deficits in his body from all these years were finally somewhat restored. He had the energy to get out of bed and walk around the Imperial Palace. Xiao Shao never restricted him. Qi Yan dismissed the servants and watched the fish by the lotus pond alone.

He remembered studying at the Hanlin Academy in his youth. There was also a lotus pond there, where he often took a short nap to escape the summer heat, with koi swimming inside. At that time, he never would have thought that in the future, he would be trapped within the four walls of the palace, neither human nor ghost, becoming an influential eunuch despised and reviled by others.

Qi Yan stayed by the pond for a long time, so long that the sun began to set in the west. Snapping out of his daze, he suddenly caught sight of a flash of bright yellow.

A heavy cloak was thrown over his head, and he was picked up by someone.

It was Xiao Shao.

Xiao Shao's expression was somewhat ugly, so ugly that he thought the emperor would throw him into the lotus pond. Qi Yan's body stiffened, but then quickly relaxed.

At this point, drowning in a pond would still be considered a decent way to die.

But the hands with which Xiao Shao held him were very steady.

Xiao Shao was tall, and his cloak was long enough to cover a person entirely. As he was carried back and forth by the emperor, the palace servants all around covertly observed him, then knowingly averted their gazes.

Over the past few months, he had grown accustomed to being held by Xiao Shao, and even the palace servants were used to it.

The emperor's sleeping quarters were very warm. Qi Yan narrowed his eyes, enjoying it somewhat. Then, he was tossed onto the bed by Xiao Shao.

The motion was not very gentle, but fortunately, the cushions on the bed were soft enough, so it didn't hurt.

The emperor's face darkened: "Do you know your crime?"

Qi Yan gave a self-deprecating smile. How could his crimes be clearly stated in a single sentence? Poisoning the late emperor, showing contempt for the emperor—every single one of these was a grave crime warranting the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his clan.

Fortunately, within his three familial branches, there was no one left anyway.

But since the emperor asked like this, he replied, "This slave knows his crime."

Qi Yan was not afraid of death, but he hoped for a quick one. He did not wish to experience the methods of the Eastern Depot.

Thus, he held onto the edge of the bed, wanting to get down and kneel, but was stopped by Xiao Shao.

The emperor asked, "Then tell me, what crime have you committed?"

Qi Yan had too many sins, and for a moment, he really didn't know where to start. So he picked the heaviest one: "Poisoning the late emperor."

Xiao Shao shook his head: "Xiao Yi deserved to die. Incorrect."

Qi Yan tried again: "Contempt for the emperor?"

When he was a powerful eunuch, Xiao Shao was still a prince. The two belonged to different factions, so friction was inevitable.

Xiao Shao shook his head: "I didn't feel offended by you. Incorrect."

Qi Yan furrowed his brows.

He just assumed Xiao Shao was being nitpicky. Lowering his eyes, he said dryly, "This slave does not know. I beg Your Majesty's enlightenment."

Xiao Shao then reached out and poked him on the forehead.

The poke was very heavy, leaving a red mark on the spot. Failing to maintain his kneeling posture, Qi Yan fell onto the bed. He was just wondering whether he should add 'loss of decorum before the emperor' to his list of crimes when Xiao Shao complained, "You just recovered from your illness, yet you run around without a cloak. I see you haven't listened to a single word of the imperial physician's advice. You made me look for you everywhere, and seeing you sitting by the lotus pond, I thought you were going to jump into the lake. You scared me half to death."

"..."

Qi Yan was stunned.

He didn't understand the connection between 'thinking he was going to jump into the lake' and 'scaring the emperor half to death', so he kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

Xiao Shao said, "Such a huge offense requires punishment."

What kind of crime was 'scaring the emperor half to death by wanting to jump into a lake'? There was no precedent for this, so Qi Yan said, "I am at your disposal."

Anyway, aside from submitting to his disposal, he had no other option.

Xiao Shao: "Your punishment is to finish reading this memorial."

After saying that, he handed over a document, placing it by Qi Yan's hand.

Qi Yan didn't understand how this counted as a punishment, but he still picked up the memorial and lowered his eyes to read it.

As he read, he held his breath.

Xiao Shao had truly overturned the Silver Case.

Without dragging his feet in the slightest, he completely cleared him of all charges, restored Qi Chen's reputation, and even moved his tomb from the outskirts of the capital back to their ancestral graveyard. Qi Yan's two younger sisters who had been wandering among the commoners were also found and raised in the estate.

Qi Yan took a deep breath: "What is the meaning of this?"

Xiao Shao: "It doesn't mean anything. I just wanted to make you a little happier."

Qi Yan's appearance of having no attachments and being ready to pass away at any moment was somewhat frightening.

Xiao Shao remained silent, doing everything he needed to do. Although the dead could not be brought back to life, it could still be considered some form of consolation.

Qi Yan closed his eyes slightly: "How could this lowly one's insignificant body be worthy of Your Majesty's concern to such an extent?"

Xiao Shao: "I say you are worthy, so you are."

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Grand Tutor Song was also my teacher. I went to visit him once, and he left something for you."

Saying this, he took out a jade hairpin. It was neatly carved, icy, translucent, and lustrous—made of superb material.

These words were naturally false. Xiao Shao had never seen Grand Tutor Song later on. This hairpin was found among his belongings, marked for confiscation, and placed in the storehouse. One look at it, and Xiao Shao knew it was meant to be given to his little Tanhua.

It was just that in this life, Grand Tutor Song never found the opportunity to do so.

Xiao Shao then undid Qi Yan's hair, tied it up again for him, inserted the hairpin securely, and nodded, saying, "It looks good."

Qi Yan kept his body stiff, letting him secure the hairpin. Xiao Shao spoke again, "He also gave you a courtesy name."

Leaving the characters 'Pingzhang' to him, Xiao Shao made up an excuse for his own actions; "Set your mind at ease. Grand Tutor Song wanted me to take good care of you."

When Xiao Shao said this, he wasn't joking.

He carefully nourished Qi Yan's body back to health, then let him leave the palace to start from the Hanlin Academy. Qi Yan had been a Director for so many years; while he had played with power, he had never done anything to harm the state and the country. Xiao Shao let him do as he pleased, changing his name to Qi Pingzhang. He was transferred from the Hanlin Academy to the Six Ministries, and eventually, he even gained the qualifications to enter the Grand Secretariat.

Xiao Shao never bound him, save for one point: Qi Yan had to return to the palace at night.

His little Tanhua already didn't recognize him anymore. If they couldn't even sleep together, Xiao Shao would become depressed.

Thus, Qi Yan frequently went in and out of the palace. By day, he discussed matters of state with the emperor; by night, he shared a bed with the emperor. He grew more and more accustomed to sleeping beside the emperor. One day, upon waking up from a nightmare, he even found himself wrapping his arms around Xiao Shao, his whole body pressed against him.

Xiao Shao wiped the corner of his eye and greeted him with a smile, "Morning, little Director."

Qi Yan didn't know how to reply, so he lowered his eyes and said, "Morning."

The body's reactions couldn't be faked. Beside Xiao Shao, he felt a long-lost sense of relaxation and safety.

The turning point occurred during a certain court assembly.

It was unknown who brought it up, saying that the Emperor was in the prime of his youth and at the right age to establish an Empress. They even presented a booklet listing the young ladies of marriageable age from various officials' families, detailing who was beautiful in appearance and who was elegant and intelligent, all marked out one by one.

Listening from the side, Qi Yan's brow twitched.

He felt sad for no reason.

Xiao Shao was the emperor. Naturally, he would take concubines—one, two, many of them. What did it look like for him to sleep with a eunuch all day?

Sitting at the head, Xiao Shao took in everyone's expressions. He raised a hand to silence the crowd's discussions and singled out Qi Yan, "Pingzhang, what are your thoughts?"

In a daze, Qi Yan stepped forward. Holding his wooden tablet, he bowed and said hoarsely, "To reply to Your Majesty, a emperor establishing an Empress is a great fortune for the nation."

"..."

Xiao Shao let out a laugh: "What Minister Qi said is reasonable."

That night, when Qi Yan returned to the sleeping quarters, Xiao Shao was waiting for him at the head of the bed, opening his arms for him to come over. After a moment of hesitation, Qi Yan reached out and hugged him back.

For this final night, what harm was there in being a bit indulgent?

But the emperor pushed him away, grabbed a jug of wine, and invited Qi Yan to drink with him.

Xiao Shao watched him drink cup after cup, his face gradually turning red, before he tipped forward and planted himself completely into Xiao Shao's embrace.

Qi Yan had never drunk alcohol. He didn't know how terrible his tolerance was, nor did he know that he liked to spout nonsense and strip people of their clothes when drunk.

This time, he once again stripped off Xiao Shao's sash.

Drunk and flushed, with a watery redness in his eyes, Qi Yan leaned over to kiss Xiao Shao. When Xiao Shao held him back, he looked at him aggrievedly. Xiao Shao asked, "Do you really want me to marry an Empress?"

Qi Yan looked bewildered: "...I don't want to."

Xiao Shao: "Why don't you want to?"

Qi Yan struggled to think. For an official to fool around with the emperor was disloyal; to be ambiguous with the emperor was a loss of decorum. No matter what, he shouldn't 'not want to'.

But he just didn't want to.

No matter how many reasons there were, not wanting to simply meant not wanting to.

Thus, Qi Yan pursed his lips and didn't make a sound.

Xiao Shao sighed and grumbled, "You idiot Tanhua, it's obviously because you like me."

Saying this, he released his grip restraining the hand on his sash, allowing Qi Yan to pull it off and press down on him. Following that, they both fell backward onto the bed together.

Having endured for so long, Xiao Shao finally didn't have to hold back anymore.

A stormy night of passion ensued.

When Qi Yan woke up the next day, his body felt a long-absent discomfort.

His waist was extremely soft and weak, and there was a strange ache in a certain place. For a split second, Qi Yan thought he had returned to the past and was being subjected to some sort of punishment.

But besides the soreness and weakness, he also felt a sense of comfort.

As his memories slowly and arduously returned, Qi Yan hazily remembered that yesterday he had pulled off Xiao Shao's sash, pushed him onto the bed, and then...

And then?!

He abruptly sat up, letting out a sharp gasp, which awakened Xiao Shao beside him. Xiao Shao groggily pulled him back down, grabbed onto him, and hugged him again, "There's still an hour before morning court, sleep a little longer."

They had messed around so late last night, he was now dead tired.

Qi Yan's sleepiness completely vanished. He had shared a bed with Xiao Shao for so long, and Xiao Shao had always been gentle and restrained, never doing anything out of line. Yet last night, he... he?

The emperor's clothes were disheveled—he stripped them.

There was a bloody mark on the emperor's lower lip—he bit him.

There were hickeys on the emperor's neck—he left them.

...

His own body was uncomfortable—he brought it upon himself.

Qi Yan's mind was in utter turmoil. Ever since coming out of Fuyou Temple, he thought he was no different from a dead man, capable of remaining unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him. But now, his heart was beating so frantically, so fast.

For such an outrageous and insolent act, why didn't Xiao Shao push him away? Why did he just give in?

He remained awake for quite some time, and Xiao Shao had also mostly woken up, asking softly, "Empress?"

Qi Yan was taken aback.

Xiao Shao sounded dissatisfied: "You promised to be my Empress last night, you can't go back on your word today."

It was true that Qi Yan was the first to pounce, but his stamina was truly too poor. Out of consideration for his body, Xiao Shao had already been as gentle as possible, yet Qi Yan still begged for mercy repeatedly. His mind wasn't clear at all. At that time, he would have agreed to whatever was said. Xiao Shao just held onto him, asking in his ear over and over again, "Do you want to be my Empress? Do you want to be my Empress?"

While asking, he was also taking bold and resolute actions, forging ahead vigorously, and breaking new ground. Qi Yan's consciousness drifted, like a small boat tossing in the sea. He could only cling tightly to Xiao Shao, this piece of driftwood, and besides agreeing, he couldn't say a single word.

Xiao Shao looked at him with a face full of condemnation: "You clearly agreed yesterday. Are you going to go back on your word now that we're done?"

He looked extremely wronged, like an innocent young maiden who had been abandoned by a scumbag after being toyed with.

Qi Yan: "Your, Your Majesty... I... am not... this subject!"

Director Qi was capable of playing with power and politics, but deep down, he was still the gentleman of outstanding moral character from the past. He truly hadn't seen a situation like this before, nor did he know how to deal with it. He stuttered "I" for a long time, his ears turning completely red from anxiety, but he couldn't articulate a clear sentence.

Having been completely lifeless for so long, his current appearance was truly vibrant and adorable.

Xiao Shao looked at him fondly, then leaned forward and kissed the corner of his lips.

Gently and slowly, he coaxed Qi Yan into parting his lips and kissing him back. He kissed him until he was dizzy and his whole body went limp, before calling out in his ear over and over again, "Empress? Empress? Empress, Empress, Empress? You promised me yesterday, Empress?"

It very much seemed like if Qi Yan didn't agree, he would keep calling him that until the end of time.

"..."

What else could the little Director say?

He could only purse his lips: "...Mm."