Zheng Duobao carefully looked at his unhappy expression, hesitated for a moment, and still did not dare to say a word good for Xue Shu. He sighed softly, bowed and walked out, asking someone to call Xue Shu over.
Xue Shu came hurriedly from the Imperial Household Department.
Since the death of Emperor Longfeng, Xue Shu has been burdened with many things. Gong Hongfei rebelled, Gao Xian died, and now he is in charge of the Jinyiwei, Silijian, Dongchang, and Xichang temporarily. The imperial guards need to be reorganized and trained, and patrols need to be rearranged. Moreover, the power of the two factories needs to be reorganized, and reliable people need to be promoted to take over.
Although not as busy as Yin Chengyu, he is definitely not free.
Hearing that His Highness had summoned him, he immediately dropped his work and rushed over. He saw Zheng Duobao, who was waiting outside, looking at him with a complicated expression. After a while, he pulled him aside and whispered, "You have been with His Highness for so long. You should know that although His Highness has always been tolerant, he is not the kind of person who favors you without limit. You must not take advantage of your favor and become arrogant. Although what happened today has displeased His Highness, you should admit your mistake and be more careful in the future. Even after His Highness ascends to the throne, he will not treat you badly."
As a bystander, he could also see some clues - His Highness treated Xue Shu differently.
Your Highness has always been clean and self-disciplined, and has not been lustful, but Xue Shu is an exception.
When His Highness was just growing up, there were people who tried to get into His Highness's bed. There were even people with bad intentions who deliberately arranged for someone to lead the inexperienced Crown Prince astray. All those who had bad intentions were punished by His Highness. At that time, the Second and Third Princes, who were about the same age as His Highness, already had several concubines in their rooms. Especially the Third Prince, who was so romantic and dissolute, not only had concubines, but also had male prostitutes.
Only their prince did not even accept the beauties arranged by the empress, and devoted himself to state affairs.
Over the years, there has only been one Xue Shu.
Zheng Duobao was sent by Queen Yu to serve the prince, and he had watched the prince grow up with his own eyes. Now, looking at Xue Shu, he felt both happy and worried. He didn't know whether the current situation was good or bad, and his mood was very complicated.
Fortunately, Xue Shu is a grateful person, and his heart and eyes are full of Your Highness.
Zheng Duobao patted Xue Shu's arm with mixed feelings. Seeing that he remained silent, he assumed that he had heard what he said, opened the door, and said, "Go ahead."
Xue Shu frowned and looked at him, not understanding why he suddenly pulled him aside to say such words, but he caught an important piece of information - His Highness was still angry.
He recalled what happened yesterday, pursed his lips, and stepped into the inner hall.
The door opened and closed with a slight noise. Yin Chengyu looked up and saw his figure. He narrowed his eyes and sneered from his nose.
He was a little unhappy about what happened yesterday, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt that Xue Shu's mood had been very strange in recent days, so his anger dissipated and he was now more confused.
He studied the man standing before him, tapping his fingers on the armrest.
"Did you leave the teeth marks on my neck on purpose?"
He thought Xue Shu would come up with a bunch of reasons to prove that his behavior was reasonable and correct, but unexpectedly Xue Shu admitted his fault directly after hearing what he said: "Yesterday was too much..." He paused before finishing: "I couldn't control myself."
This reason is reasonable, but Yin Chengyu kept looking at him and slowly frowned.
Just as Xue Shu understood him, he also understood him and always felt that there was more to it than that.
But Xue Shu is sometimes like a saw-mouthed gourd. You can't pry him open by force. You have to use other methods to make him speak voluntarily.
Yin Chengyu thought for a moment, then temporarily let the matter go, saying, "Forget it, no one saw it. I've been tired and sleepless these past few days, so you stay tonight and massage my head."
Xue Shu looked up at him, somewhat surprised, but still responded immediately.
In the evening, after Xue Shu finished his business at the Imperial Household Department, he returned to his bedroom in Ciqing Palace.
When Zheng Duobao saw him enter the bedroom, a smile appeared on his face. He considerately dismissed the rest of the people and closed the door.
In the bedroom, Yin Chengyu was lazily leaning on the Luohan bed, reading a book in his hand. Seeing him come in, he put down the book and said, "There is still hot water in the bathroom."
Xue Shu responded, took a bath, and changed into a light and soft undershirt.
Yin Chengyu had already put away the books and lay on the couch. When he saw him come out, he patted the empty space beside him, motioning him to come up.
Xue Shu got on the couch, and Yin Chengyu naturally leaned over to him, resting his head on his legs and closing his eyes.
The soft and smooth long hair was spread on the legs. Xue Shu's fingers shuttled through the hair, and he controlled the force with his fingertips and pressed on the temples on both sides.
With the gentle massage, Yin Chengyu's body quickly relaxed. His eyeballs moved regularly under his thin eyelids, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Xue Shu greedily studied this delicate face and discovered that there was a slight blue tinge under his eyes.
These days, all kinds of things have piled up together. He is very busy. It is common for him to rest in the late night, but he has never complained of being tired.
His fingertips lightly touched the faint shadow under his eyes, and Xue Shu continued to press for a while before he gently moved the sleeping person to the pillow, then got off the bed and turned off the lights.
There were no candles in the room. Xue Shu climbed onto the couch in the dark. After adjusting to the dim light, he carefully held the sleeping person in his arms.
The sleeping person probably felt uncomfortable and turned his back to him.
Xue Shu buried his face in the crevice of his neck, first with his nose, then he couldn't help pulling down the loose collar, pressing his dry lips against it, sucking out bright red marks.
In the daytime, Zheng Duobao was shocked by the tooth marks on the back of his neck and did not dare to look closely. If he looked down, he would find that there were red marks stacked one on top of the other below the tooth marks.
Now there is a new seal under the old seal, and the porcelain-white skin looks a bit shocking.
But Xue Shu looked at his "work" with great satisfaction. His hands and feet turned into shackles to imprison the person in his arms. He pressed his lips against the person in a somewhat morbid manner, tracing him over and over again, his eyes full of greed, like a glutton who is never satisfied.
His eyes were deep and heavy, and the depths hidden in them were only released when no one was watching, rolling up with a surging tide that seemed to drown himself and the person in his arms in the next moment.
But his breathing and movements were extremely gentle, for fear of disturbing the sleeping person.
Even the arms across the waist were very restrained, always maintaining a strength that would not allow the opponent to escape.
He rubbed her greedily, traced her with his lips, pressed his forehead against hers, greedily absorbing her scent. Only by being infinitely close could he temporarily soothe the restless beast in his heart.
However, his mind couldn't help but recall what Ying Hongxue had said to him.
Just a few days ago, He Shan bought a house in Beijing, and Ying Hongxue's restaurant was officially opened. Both of them were orphans, and they didn't care about worldly rules, so they only invited Xue Shu to be a witness and set a wedding date.
The three of them were very happy that night and drank a lot of wine.
He Shan drank the most and was already lying on the side unconscious due to drunkenness.
Ying Hongxue was probably a little drunk, so she took advantage of the alcohol to say things to him that she had never said before.
She had long guessed the relationship between him and His Highness, but she did not comment on it. She only asked him if he had thought about his future plans.
Xue Shu was stumped by her question.
When he thought about it carefully, he was surprised that he and Yin Chengyu had been entangled in two lifetimes, but he seemed to have never thought about the future.
In the first life, Yin Chengyu died early, and they had no future.
Everything seemed perfect in this life, but he didn't know where the future would lead.
In two lives, he used all his efforts to get the moon in the sky and tried carefully to take it for himself, but he was always afraid that all this would be just an illusion.
The status of an emperor represents dignity and power, but also represents helplessness.
As a monarch, establishing a queen, taking concubines and reproducing offspring is a means to stabilize the previous dynasty and is also an unshirkable responsibility.
In the previous life, the Yu family was destroyed and Queen Yu died early. Yin Chengyu had exhausted his foundation and his health had always been poor. Even if some court officials petitioned to expand the harem, he could justifiably resist.
But now it’s different.
The Yu family is safe and sound, Queen Yu is safe and sound, and she has become the most noble woman in Dayan.
Just a few days ago, Empress Dowager Yu summoned ladies from noble families to the palace, reportedly to look for daughters of appropriate age from various families.
Yin Chengyu is already nineteen years old and will soon come of age. After he ascends the throne, it will be time for him to appoint a queen.
And this time, he had no right to stop it.
If it were someone else, perhaps he could use some means to stop it or simply kill him to prevent future troubles, but after experiencing his previous life, no one knew better than him how much Yin Chengyu valued his relatives.
He didn't know what choice Yin Chengyu would make if he and Queen Yu were put on opposite ends of the same scale.
This uncertainty made him uneasy. He dared not think about it, let alone gamble, and could only deceive himself and escape.
If that day really comes... maybe he will be even crazier than in his previous life.
Xue Shu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying his best to suppress the crazy thoughts that surged in his heart.
He groped for Yin Chengyu's hand and gently rubbed the fragile flesh on the back of his neck with his teeth. Under the cover of darkness, he unscrupulously vented the evil thoughts that kept swelling in his chest.
"Why are you not sleeping in the middle of the night?"
A sleepy voice suddenly sounded in the darkness, and Yin Chengyu reacted very quickly and grabbed the hand that was about to pull away in shock. He grabbed the hand tightly, turned around, half-raised his body on his elbows and looked at Xue Shu.
Xue Shu subconsciously looked away, then looked back after a moment and met his gaze.
Neither of them spoke. Yin Chengyu's eyes were bright in the darkness, as if waiting for his answer.
Xue Shu's lips moved slightly, but he didn't know how to speak.
He stared at Yin Chengyu for a long time, and finally, as if to vent his anger, he pressed his neck and kissed him forcefully, as if he wanted to vent the anxiety and loss of control that he could not express through such extreme intimacy.
The bitten lips felt painful, Yin Chengyu frowned and made a slight sound, but did not scold.
He noticed Xue Shu's uneasiness.
One hand was inserted into the other's hair, sliding down the curve of the back of the neck to caress the back, and the other hand gently touched his brow bone. Yin Chengyu asked hoarsely: "Tell me, what are you afraid of?"