Chapter 24: It Is All Thanks to Your Lordships Training. Part 6

But this matter was different. This time, they were dealing with the thugs of the capital and the old loafers in the alleys—people as quick as monkeys who didn’t care about the refugees’ lives and only thought about how to skim off the government.

Having Shen Jun oversee the distribution points was like using a legendary sword to chop firewood. It was sharp enough, but the method was wrong. You didn’t need such a fine blade for this.

Gu Huaiyu didn’t move his body; he simply beckoned Shen Jun with a finger. “Come closer.”

Shen Jun moved forward on his knees, stopping three paces from the couch. He raised his arms high, holding the document up to hand it over.

Gu Huaiyu took it and flipped through, frowning as he thought of a solution.

The servant girl by the copper basin was carefully using a cotton towel to wipe Gu Huaiyu’s ankles. That jade-like skin was turned a rosy pink by the steam, droplets of water sliding down the curve of his foot one by one.

Shen Jun stared for a moment before suddenly leaning down. “Your subordinate is bold.”

He took the towel from the girl’s hand, his tone as restrained and sincere as ever. “Please allow your subordinate to serve the Chancellor.”

Gu Huaiyu had been eighty percent sure the man was going to sell his master for glory; now he was a full hundred percent certain. To use such lowly methods to show loyalty—wasn’t it just to make Gu drop his guard?

Yet Shen Jun’s fingertips trembled uncontrollably as they hung above Gu Huaiyu’s ankle. That skin he had longed for in his dreams was within reach, like spring snow that would melt at a touch.

The towel in his hand delayed its fall. A drop of water slid down Gu Huaiyu’s foot, dangling at the tip of his toe, shimmering in the light.

Gu Huaiyu found him unpleasant to look at anyway and intentionally pushed his leg forward, his toe nearly touching the man’s palm. He asked mockingly, “Is Master Shen not going to serve this Chancellor? Why can you not bring yourself to do it?”

Shen Jun’s breath hitched. He finally placed the towel down gently. Through the soft cotton, his touch was restrained to the point of being prayerful, as if he were touching a fragile treasure.

But when that cool arch of the foot accidentally brushed against his palm, it made his whole body flare with heat. His breath grew hot, and even the muscles under his official robes stiffened.

If these feet were stepped on his knees, if they could… he slammed his eyes shut, suppressing himself as he focused on the wiping.

Gu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes. Shen Jun was more capable of being submissive than he had thought; this was truly difficult.

Having had her job stolen, the servant girl left the room unhappily. In the moment the carved door opened halfway, Pei Jingyi caught a glimpse of the interior and his eyes narrowed.

Shen Jun was fully focused, his thumb stroking the jade-like foot through the towel, when he heard aggressive footsteps behind him. Before he could turn, his right shoulder was struck by a solid chest, and he was forced aside half a foot by brute strength.

He stumbled, grabbing the desk to steady himself. Pei Jingyi had already dropped onto one knee in his place, usurping the position. He didn’t even spare Shen Jun a glance. “How is Master Shen serving? Why are the Chancellor’s feet so cold?”

Pei Jingyi grabbed Gu Huaiyu’s ankle. The soldier’s hand was broad and rough, making the foot look blindingly white by contrast. He undid his collar with a few quick moves and shoved the still-wet feet directly against his chest. “I’ll warm them for the Chancellor.”

The soles of Gu Huaiyu’s feet touched the warm, firm chest. Human flesh was indeed more comfortable than a heater. He raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at Shen Jun’s darkened face.

Pei Jingyi, on the other hand, was perfectly content, burying Gu Huaiyu’s feet under his clothes and wrapping his collar tightly, seemingly sincere in his efforts to warm them.

Shen Jun gripped the towel that still held the warmth of Gu Huaiyu’s body, wiping the moisture from his palm. “The General is truly considerate. I thought the General only knew how to swing a blade; I didn’t know you were so skilled even in the work of a foot-warming maid.”

Pei Jingyi tucked the feet even deeper into his clothes and looked up at Gu Huaiyu, a canine tooth showing in his grin. “It is all thanks to the Chancellor’s training.”

Gu Huaiyu watched the two men fighting for favor at his feet with a cold, detached gaze. He stayed out of it—if there was a good show of dog biting dog, why stop it?

Shen Jun folded the towel neatly and placed it on the desk. Ignoring Pei Jingyi, he suddenly said, “Chancellor, the Golden List was posted today. Xie Shaoling won Top Scholar.”

Gu Huaiyu already knew this. He tapped his finger on the armrest, signaling for him to continue.

Shen Jun glanced at Pei Jingyi’s tall figure and nodded with a faint smile. “Scholar Xie asked the Emperor for a favor in the hall.”

“Scholar Xie said he encountered a Master Plum at the Heyue Restaurant, who writes with his left hand in an exquisite Yan Style, rare in this world.”

Gu Huaiyu tilted his head to look at Shen Jun, waiting for the rest.

Shen Jun coughed lightly and said unhurriedly, “Scholar Xie asked the Emperor for a marriage decree. If this Master Plum is found, he asked the Emperor to marry the two of them. The Emperor agreed.”

Before he finished speaking, Gu Huaiyu’s foot stiffened slightly inside Pei Jingyi’s clothes.

Pei Jingyi keenly sensed this subtle change. His expression remained unchanged as he looked at Shen Jun. “This Top Scholar also favors men?”

What was the meaning of that “also”? Shen Jun’s gaze shifted, and he said with a half-smile, “Where the heart goes, what matters is mutual love. Does gender matter?”