The Aftermath

Scarcely daring to believe it, Jing Shao touched Mu Hanzhang's face. Its slight coolness made his heart tremble, but when he paid closer attention, he could feel warmth—the warmth of a living person. He studied him closely by candlelight. It was still that same beautiful face, but apart from the bloody bite mark on the lower lip, it was unmistakably the face of a young man who had just turned twenty, still untouched by the ravages of life.

What was going on? After a long, stunned moment, Jing Shao pulled open his inner robe to look. In the eighteenth year of Hongzheng, an arrow to the chest had nearly killed him. Now the skin there was perfectly intact, and all his other old scars were gone as well. His muscles were smoothly defined, but his body was a little slighter than he remembered.

Reaching back, he felt along the concealed compartment inside the bed and pressed. A small door opened, revealing a blue-bound ledger. He hurriedly opened it and checked the last entry: "Received two thousand taels of silver from Li Yanqing; redeemed a five-thousand-tael IOU for salt-trade licenses. Nineteenth day of the second month, thirteenth year of Hongzheng..."

Silently returning the ledger to its place, Jing Shao looked around in a daze. He had unmistakably returned to his wedding night, in the spring of the thirteenth year of Hongzheng.

This was the year he had returned victorious after driving back the Xiongnu, the first of the emperor's sons to be made a prince. No one dared challenge him.

This was the year the Successor Empress had persuaded his imperial father to marry Marquis Beiwei's concubine-born son to him. Their wedding was tonight.

This year, he was only nineteen. The Three Feudatories had not yet been subdued. None of it had begun...

"Hahaha! Heaven hasn't forsaken me! You damned heavens, you really have treated me well! Hahaha..." Once he was certain this was no dream, his shock gave way to the wild joy of being reborn, and Jing Shao could not help laughing aloud.

"Mm..." A sudden groan beside him cut short his delight. His laughter stopped abruptly. He hurriedly turned to look. His noise had woken Mu Hanzhang from his stupor; long, delicate lashes trembled, and a pair of beautiful eyes slowly opened.

Who said none of it had begun? Those damned heavens—couldn't they have sent him back just four hours earlier? Then Junqing would never have been hurt like this. Inwardly cursing, Jing Shao reached out to gather Mu Hanzhang into his arms. But the instant his hand touched him, the other man recoiled.

"Mm..." The sudden movement pulled at the injuries between his legs, and Mu Hanzhang's face went white with pain.

"Don't move!" Jing Shao held him still, only to feel the body beneath his palm trembling slightly. He could not help frowning. On his wedding night, he had been so bitter and resentful that he had drunk too much. After all these years, he could no longer remember exactly what he had done. He remembered only that, after they paid their respects to the emperor and empress the following day, Mu Hanzhang had fainted as soon as they left the hall. Judging by the state he was in now, Jing Shao had most likely forced himself on him—and hurt him badly.

Mu Hanzhang did stop moving. He merely stared at Jing Shao, those beautiful eyes filled with humiliation and fear.

"You..." Jing Shao opened his mouth, but could think of nothing to say. He could only turn and tug the silk bellpull beside the bed. Before long, a maid answered from the outer room.

"Prepare hot water. I wish to bathe." He called out the order, then turned back once the maid had acknowledged it and left. Still at a loss for words, he scratched his head awkwardly.

"Don't be afraid," Jing Shao said softly at last, trying to reassure him. "Well... I drank too much last night. I truly didn't mean to..."

"Prince, the hot water is ready. Shall we servants come in and attend you in your bath?" The voice belonged to a notably composed maid. Jing Shao remembered her as Zhixi, his senior chambermaid. On a wedding night, hot water was naturally kept ready at all times. She had asked this way out of concern that the servants might see something they should not.

"No need. You may all leave," Jing Shao said impatiently.

Mu Hanzhang breathed a sigh of relief. Having to submit beneath another man was already a profound humiliation. If the servants were to see him in this wretched state as well...

"Mm... What are you doing?" Mu Hanzhang started in fright. The man had actually pulled back his quilt and lifted him into his arms.

"Hold still." With the quilt drawn aside, all the consequences of his actions lay exposed. Quite apart from the countless bruises, the space between those long legs was covered in mingled red and white fluids, and his private parts were in an even worse state. Jing Shao's frown deepened. "I'm taking you to wash."

Wash him? Mu Hanzhang looked at the man before him in bewilderment. He had said he wanted to bathe himself—had that been a way of sparing Mu Hanzhang embarrassment? But why would he do that? There had been no trace of tenderness when he was tormenting him just now.

"I can go myself," Mu Hanzhang said coldly. Then, feeling that this was improper, he lowered his voice. "How could I trouble you with such a thing, Prince?"

At the sight of him looking both sullen and forbearing, Jing Shao's lips curved despite himself. Realizing that this hardly made him look sincere, he forced the corners of his mouth down and said soberly, "You don't have the strength. It was my fault, after all. Consider this my apology." Though they were husband and wife, in a household like theirs, it was unheard of for a prince to wait on his Prince's Consort. To Jing Shao, however, it seemed perfectly natural. They were both men, and he had tended wounded officers and soldiers in the army. He was confident that he knew what he was doing.

Unable to dissuade him, Mu Hanzhang could only let him have his way.

Satisfied when the man in his arms stopped struggling, Jing Shao carried him behind the screen. Without bothering to remove his inner robe, he lifted a foot and stepped straight into the tub.

Once in the water, Mu Hanzhang pulled free of his embrace and leaned against the opposite side of the wooden tub. Jing Shao was not annoyed. He simply took off his sodden inner robe and scooped up a handful of hot water to wash his face, easing the discomfort of his hangover.

The bathtub at the prince's residence was large enough that even two men did not feel crowded in it. Mu Hanzhang took a cloth from the side and carefully washed the traces from his body, discreetly watching the other man. Seeing him rub his temples over and over, he thought that he really must have drunk too much last night.

Jing Shao shook his head to clear it. The cold wind at the cliff's edge still seemed to whistle past his ears, making this soak in hot water feel unreal. But this was no time to reflect on life. He reached out and pulled the man huddled in the corner into his arms. Mu Hanzhang immediately went rigid.

"I can wash myself..." Startled, Mu Hanzhang hastily caught the hand reaching between his legs.

"It's awkward for you to do it yourself," Jing Shao said with perfect propriety. "We're both men. What are you so shy about?"

His utterly matter-of-fact tone left Mu Hanzhang speechless. Just as he was about to protest, a finger suddenly thrust inside him, making him give a muffled groan.

"Does it hurt?" Seeing him bite his lower lip again, Jing Shao hurriedly gathered him into his arms, letting him rest against his body. "Don't bite yourself. It'll be over soon. Bite me if it hurts." All urge to tease him gone, he curled his finger inside him, working quickly and gently. Mu Hanzhang did not bite him; he merely drew in little breaths through the pain. Once he had cleaned everything out, Jing Shao wrapped the man in his arms in a large piece of soft cloth, quickly tucked him into bed, and turned to look for medicine for his injuries.

The sheets had already been changed. Mu Hanzhang sat up and put on his inner robe. The other man stood barefoot before a cabinet, wearing only a thin robe, his hair still dripping as he sorted through something. He had been exceedingly gentle while washing him, and the look in his eyes just now had not seemed feigned. Mu Hanzhang was rather confused. Still, if the Prince did not treat him too badly, the days ahead would be much easier to bear.

"Here, let me put some medicine on you."

Lost in thought, Mu Hanzhang blinked as a handsome face suddenly loomed before him. Prince Cheng truly was very handsome. Members of the imperial family were good-looking to begin with, and he was outstanding even among them... Wait. Medicine!

"Well... I can do that myself." Mu Hanzhang snatched the little bottle out of Jing Shao's hand, his face flushing crimson. In the water just now, at least nothing had been clearly visible. But the room was brightly lit—wouldn't he be able to see everything?

"We're already husband and wife. What are you afraid of?" Seeing color bloom in that pale face, Jing Shao could not help smiling as he climbed onto the bed. Taking advantage of his quick reflexes, he snatched the bottle back.

Unable to win, Mu Hanzhang could only pull the quilt over his head. Out of sight, out of mind.

Quite pleased with himself, Jing Shao spread those long legs, scooped out some ointment, and applied it. "My imperial father bestowed this on me before I left on campaign. It's especially good for stopping bleeding and relieving pain."

The cool ointment caused no additional pain, soothing the burning injuries. Mu Hanzhang naturally knew how precious a medicine that did not sting must be. "How can you use such valuable medicine on a place like that?" He poked his head out from beneath the quilt and caught the tenderness in Jing Shao's eyes. That look brought a little comfort to a heart that had already despaired. Mu Hanzhang inwardly mocked himself for being so pitiful that another person's compassion could make him happy.

"It's precisely a place like this that needs good medicine." Finished applying the ointment, Jing Shao gazed at those rounded buttocks. They looked as though they would feel wonderful... Forcing his eyes away from that lovely sight, he covered Mu Hanzhang with the quilt as though he had seen nothing at all. Then he slipped beneath it himself, sat back against the headboard, and picked up the slightly cooled hangover remedy from the small table, gulping down a bowlful. They had already gotten off to a poor enough start. He must not make things worse.

"Prince, you shouldn't be sleeping on the outside. Please take the inside." It was customary for the wife to sleep on the outer side of the bed so she could conveniently serve her husband tea and help him dress. After all Jing Shao's fussing, most of Mu Hanzhang's fear had already faded. He shifted toward Jing Shao, indicating that he should climb over to the inside. Yet all this accomplished was to bring Mu Hanzhang close beside him. The other man showed no intention of moving over.

"You're not a woman. Why bother with all that?" Jing Shao looked down with a smile and took another small bottle, pouring a little clear salve onto his fingertip. "This is a remarkable medicine I obtained in the Western Regions. Apply it to a small wound and it will form a scab. By the next day, it'll be mostly healed. It does hurt a little, though. Bear with it." As he spoke, he smoothed it onto Mu Hanzhang's lower lip with one finger.

The needle-sharp pain made Mu Hanzhang's brows draw together. He tried to raise a hand to press against it, but Jing Shao caught his hand. "Don't touch it. It'll stop hurting in a moment." The hand in his palm was slender, smooth, and lustrous, exquisite to the touch. It was a hand that had spent years writing and painting, quite unlike his own sword-wielding one.

Mu Hanzhang endured the stinging. When Jing Shao still did not release his hand, he could not help giving a soft cough.

"Oh. Go to sleep." Jing Shao hastily let go of his hand, called for a maid to put out the lights, and settled beneath the quilt. Tomorrow they would have to wait until after morning court to pay their respects to the emperor and empress. They could still sleep for four hours.

"Mm." The man on the inside of the bed answered and said nothing more. Only his ears quietly flushed red where Jing Shao could not see.