Prince Su leaned on the knees of his beloved, his soul half flown away. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down a couple times as he spoke in an uncontrollably hoarse voice, "It's nothing..."

If only he could remove Xie Ming's shoes, the wooden clogs were still a bit uncomfortable to press against.

With this thought, Prince Su's hands moved uncontrollably to slightly lift the youth's feet resting on his body. Grasping the hard wooden clogs, he exerted some force and removed them, tossing them aside. They landed on the ground with a dull thud in the quiet night.

As the only legitimate son of Marquis Xinyuan's household, Xie Ming had been pampered and spoiled since childhood. From a young age, he had the best food, clothing and daily necessities. He was also a man who paid great attention to his appearance, spending no less effort on himself than those noble young ladies.

Although he was male, his feet were soft and tender. Rarely seeing the light of day, the skin there was paler than other parts of his body. His ankles were slender and delicate, the faint blood vessels visible on the top of his feet under the lamplight.

Prince Su stared fixedly, almost immediately having inappropriate thoughts. In the end, he barely restrained himself for fear of truly angering the youth.

He Yan frowned slightly. Even through the thin layer of fabric, he could feel the man's heat.

However, just as Prince Su was getting excited, He Yan's voice suddenly rang out coldly, "Since it's nothing, Prince, please return to your residence quickly. Lingering here with me so late at night, what will people say if word gets out?"

Prince Su's body trembled violently. At this moment, his mind had been turned to mush by the youth's actions and he couldn't tell how much of those words were sincere. He hurriedly raised his head, his eyes filled with undisguised burning desire as he hastily explained in a low voice, "No! Ah Ming, I...I want to be together with you."

He Yan was looking down at him. Hearing this, he couldn't help but chuckle lightly, his voice carrying a hint of mischievous teasing, "You really are so crude in your speech."

Hearing this, Prince Su felt a bitterness in his heart. He had stayed at the border for many years, where the soldiers spoke even more crudely than him, some of it simply too vulgar for the ears. He was already considered quite refined in comparison. Although he wasn't so foul-mouthed like those men, he really couldn't learn the literary, cultured ways of the young gentlemen in the capital.

But Ah Ming was an elegant man, likely disdainful of his crudeness. If he was unwilling to associate with him...

Thinking of this, his heart couldn't help but clench tightly.

"Ah Ming," Prince Su looked up, staring straight at the youth's face that displayed an indescribable enchanting beauty in the night. He said hoarsely, "...Teach me, I will change."

He Yan reached out and patted his face, casually saying, "Please don't joke, Prince. With a student of your stature, I dare not presume to teach you."

Ah Ming's hand is so soft...

Prince Su took the opportunity to grasp He Yan's hand, pressing it to his own face as he said softly, "Ah Ming..."

He Yan calmly withdrew his hand, interrupting his infatuation, "Alright, it's late. Prince, please go back. I need to sleep."

Prince Su really wanted to say he could accompany Xie Ming to sleep, but seeing the youth's indifferent and tired expression, he felt it would be too presumptuous and didn't quite dare say it out loud. Hesitating for a moment, he stood up and helped the youth up from the chair, saying, "Ah Ming, let me help you undress."

He Yan glanced at him but didn't say anything, raising his arms and allowing him to proceed.

However, it was proven that Prince Su was not cut out for the task of undressing others. Perhaps it was because his attention was focused on how to grope Xie Ming a bit more, but Prince Su tied the garments into knots several times. In the end, He Yan lost patience, pushed him aside and removed his inner robes himself.

Prince Su stood silently by the bed, watching Xie Ming who had curled up completely under the covers, inwardly desiring very much to go over and snuggle with him.

However, He Yan had no such intention. He yawned lazily, eyes narrowed as he said, "It's not like we won't see each other again, what are you dawdling for? Go quickly."

Prince Su's eyes suddenly lit up, the fierceness in them intensifying. "Ah Ming, you won't avoid me anymore?"

He Yan was indeed sleepy, his eyes could barely stay open. This body was extremely delicate, drowsiness surging up as soon as it was time. He said coolly, "If Prince doesn't leave, then I'll continue avoiding you."

Having gotten assurance, Prince Su secretly reached out and carefully stroked the youth's silky smooth hair, so different from his own, reluctantly saying, "Ah Ming, see you tomorrow."

*

Recently, the rumors about Prince Su and the young master of Marquis Xinyuan's household had become excessively clamorous in the capital.

Emperor Wen Xiao stood by his desk, slowly outlining a landscape painting. Hearing the eunuch's report, his hand paused, the ink from the brush tip dripping onto the rice paper, creating an abrupt, protruding branch at the juncture of the mountains and water.

This painting that was just a little short of completion was ruined.

No anger could be seen between Emperor Wen Xiao's brows and eyes. He raised his hand to pass the brush to the little eunuch waiting at the side, ordering the painting to be put away. He moved to sit on a soft couch nearby and personally brewed a cup of spring tea.

Lowering his eyes to gaze at the tender green tea leaves undulating at the bottom of the cup, he softly said to the eunuch prostrating on the ground, "Speak in more detail, repeat to me in full everything you have investigated."

The eunuch respectfully kowtowed to Emperor Wen Xiao, not daring to conceal anything as he reported everything he had found out.

It turned out that in recent days, Prince Su had suddenly changed his previous behavior of shutting himself in all day and began to frequently appear in the famous wine houses and entertainment quarters of the capital. What was particularly eye-catching was that eight out of ten times, the young master of Marquis Xinyuan's household could be found by his side.

Judging from Prince Su's attitude, he was clearly infatuated with the young master, hovering around him all day. Even when scolded, he showed no anger at all, his temper bizarrely good.

Even the Second Prince had been scared into no longer daring to pester Xie Ming, afraid of being beaten up again by his hot-tempered royal uncle.

Hearing this, Emperor Wen Xiao's expression became a bit odd.

Wait, had his royal brother suddenly woken up?

Speaking of Prince Su's marriage, Emperor Wen Xiao had worried himself bald over it.

His royal brother had been gloomy since childhood, his temper living up to his innately fierce countenance, more sullen than a rock. From a young age, he had been a restless one, especially unpopular with the young ladies.

When Prince Su was seven or eight years old, there were a few occasions where people jokingly suggested arranging a childhood marriage for him. However, upon learning of this, he would purposely stand in front of the little girl with a fierce expression on his face and speak to her in an extremely impolite manner, directly scaring the poor girl into running away in tears. Naturally, nothing further came of these incidents.

However, apart from Prince Su's own personality, Emperor Wen Xiao himself was also partly responsible for Prince Su's marital affairs.

Not long after he ascended the throne, a rebellion suddenly broke out on the border. At that time, he did not have a general by his side whom he could fully trust, so he resolutely dispatched his most trusted brother to the border.

As it was uncertain how long the war would last, and Prince Su was already sixteen years old, the marriageable age, the Emperor wanted to arrange a marriage for this royal brother before the army left the capital. However, as soon as he brought it up, Prince Su rejected it outright, saying that with the country in turmoil, he dared not start a family.

Now, after staying at the border for eight years, Prince Su had finally returned to the capital, but the opportunity for marriage had been completely missed. Moreover, he had not taken any concubines while at the border, leaving his entire rear courtyard pitifully empty.

Being twenty-four and still a bachelor was extremely rare among the royal families of successive dynasties in the Wen Dynasty.

Not to mention others, just take Emperor Wen Xiao himself as an example. When he was twenty-four years old, his eldest son was already a full six years old.

But this royal brother of his, let alone a son, one couldn't even see a hint of a son's mother.

Therefore, after it was decided that Prince Su would return to the capital for a long stay, Emperor Wen Xiao began making arrangements everywhere to select a marriage for this royal brother. A list of suitable young ladies and their information had long been prepared, just waiting for Prince Su to return to the capital and choose one he liked, and the marriage could be bestowed immediately. If things went quickly, the wedding could be completed within half a year.

But his blockheaded royal brother, faced with those beauties as pretty as flowers, actually told him that he didn't fancy a single one of them!

Emperor Wen Xiao was so angry he could die. He wished he could press down on Prince Su's head and force him to get married quickly, but he knew very well the bad temper of this royal brother whom he had raised like a son. If it was something Prince Su himself was unwilling to do, even if an imperial edict came down, he could still resist and disobey it.

Wasn't it just because he knew the Emperor wouldn't really throw him in prison!

In short, the matter of finding Prince Su a wife was temporarily put on hold. However, Emperor Wen Xiao still felt distressed for his bachelor royal brother. He felt that with Prince Su's rear courtyard being so empty and without companionship, it was too lonely.

Not long after, he had the Empress personally select a group of plump and slender beauties to send to Prince Su Mansion to warm his bed.

If he was unwilling to marry, then forget about marriage for now. Regardless, he should at least have a few people to warm his bed.

But after meeting those beauties, this royal brother of his actually unhesitatingly threw them all into the rear courtyard to be coarse-working maids, having these delicate beauties do rough work like sweeping, laundry, and cooking every day!

This! Is this still a normal man?!

After getting over his anger, Emperor Wen Xiao repeatedly pondered this matter in his heart and suddenly had an unpleasant thought. Could it be that his royal brother... was not very capable in that area?

Actually, at first, Emperor Wen Xiao had not considered this possibility. After all, Prince Su had always been robust since childhood. By the age of sixteen, he was already two sizes more sturdy than the Emperor, with a body full of hard muscles and a face that wrote "abundant yang energy" all over it. No matter how you looked at him, he didn't seem like someone who would have problems in that area.

But now, Prince Su's actions made Emperor Wen Xiao start to have doubts.

To verify this idea, he had already planned to have the palace physicians go to Prince Su Mansion to give Prince Su a thorough physical examination. If his royal brother really had some hidden ailment, it would be good to treat it early. After all, he had heard that this kind of illness was harder to treat the longer it was delayed...

But just as he had this thought, before he could send the physicians to show concern for Prince Su's health, he heard rumors that this royal brother of his had finally come to his senses and was obsessively entangled with a beauty day in and day out, not fighting back when hit or cursed at, and was extremely passionate.

It's just that the gender of this beauty was a bit off - it was a man.

Forget it, a man is fine too. Male love was prevalent in the Wen Dynasty, and his own father had even married a male consort. As long as it didn't hinder leaving descendants, it wasn't a problem for Prince Su to keep a few male favorites in his residence.

But the real problem was that this man's identity was very, very inappropriate.

It was Xie Ming, the sole heir of the Marquis Xinyuan's household!

The entire marquis' household treasured him like a precious egg!

Who was good enough for his royal brother to fancy? He just had to be so unwise as to entangle with the marquis' household's precious son!

If it were a child of an ordinary noble family, it wouldn't matter. If Prince Su wanted him, he could have him. But the Marquis Xinyuan was an old minister who had followed him since his days as crown prince, and he had always had a special bond with the Marquis.

Even if he took a step back, if the one his royal brother fancied was the Marquis Xinyuan's illegitimate son, he could still put on a thick face and tacitly agree. But the Marquis didn't have any illegitimate sons at all - from head to toe, he only had this one son, a legitimate son, the sole heir!

Moreover, his Noble Consort Hui in the rear palace just so happened to be Xie Ming's legitimate elder sister!

How was he supposed to face his own Marquis Xinyuan and his own Consort Hui...

After hearing the eunuch's report, Emperor Wen Xiao fell silent for a while, his face wooden as he put down the tea that had already cooled more than half, and slowly said, "Immediately summon Prince Su to the palace."

It was time to have a good heart-to-heart talk with this royal brother!

Author's Note:

Meeting the parents of an older gay bachelor:

Madam Xie: I hate it!

Emperor Wen Xiao: I also hate it!