Chapter 14: The Villa
The summer villa was about half a day’s journey from the imperial palace. The carriage Wen Ning’an and Feng Qi were in was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Xingxing had also been brought along and was currently frolicking, jumping up and down in the carriage.
Wen Ning’an looked at the carriage, which was sealed up tightly, leaving only vents for cool air to enter and for ventilation, and said helplessly to Feng Qi, “Huaitian, there’s really no need to go to such lengths.”
“You can’t be in the sun anymore. See for yourself.” Feng Qi looked at Wen Ning’an’s arms and the skin exposed outside his white robe, his heart aching.
The blisters and rashes had subsided, and now his skin was covered in cracked marks. It seemed to be peeling, a little itchy and a little painful.
Wen Ning’an smiled. “Is Huaitian disgusted by my ugliness?”
Feng Qi was first stunned by Wen Ning’an’s teasing—after all, this was the first time Wen Ning’an had spoken to him in such a lighthearted tone—then he frowned and gently took Wen Ning’an’s hand. “No matter what you look like, my feelings for you will not change.”
Wen Ning’an smiled faintly.
“Yixin, I want you so badly.”
Feng Qi’s abrupt statement made Wen Ning’an’s smile freeze on his lips, his eyes widening in shock.
Being in such a small space with Wen Ning’an, breathing each other’s air, seeing Wen Ning’an sitting elegantly and leisurely beside him with a faint smile, Feng Qi suddenly felt a strong, overwhelming desire.
“Huaitian, you’re joking… mmm…”
The rest of his words were roughly blocked by Feng Qi’s mouth. Feng Qi’s hands around Wen Ning’an were gentle, afraid of hurting the wounds on his body, but the tongue that explored and scraped the inside of Wen Ning’an’s mouth was rough, like a violent storm.
Xingxing froze and buried its head in its own special soft cushion.
Shameful.
The carriage shook violently. The attendants outside were startled, then immediately understood, either looking down at the ground or up at the sky. The ones following them to the summer villa were all trusted confidants, so Feng Qi was not concerned.
The carriage driver thought to himself, The Emperor and General Wen are both so highly skilled in martial arts, no wonder it’s like an “earthquake”…
And indeed, it was not peaceful inside the carriage. Seeing that Wen Ning’an seemed to be trying to dodge, a fleeting darkness flashed in Feng Qi’s eyes. He freed one hand and pushed Wen Ning’an’s head firmly towards him, deepening the kiss.
Feng Qi was taller than Wen Ning’an, so Wen Ning’an was now forced to tilt his head back. An uncontrollable silver thread of saliva escaped from the corner of his mouth, and his chin and neck formed a beautiful arc.
Feng Qi’s hand moved down, sliding over Wen Ning’an’s back and into his undergarments.
Wen Ning’an twisted and struggled, but Feng Qi, having learned his lesson from last time, had already raised his leg to press down on the legs that Wen Ning’an was about to kick him with. Wen Ning’an was thus completely unable to resist.
“Mmph…”
Hearing Wen Ning’an suddenly let out a low groan of pain, Feng Qi was startled and eased his force, afraid of hurting his wounds. It was at this moment that Wen Ning’an kicked out and swung his arm, breaking free from Feng Qi’s embrace. With a move like a nimble snake entering water, he bent down and escaped Feng Qi’s restraint.
Seeing that Wen Ning’an was about to leave the carriage, Feng Qi, panting, quickly grabbed his wrist. “Alright, am I afraid of you or something? Don’t go outside and suffer. I won’t touch you again.”
Wen Ning’an sullenly sat down in a corner of the carriage.
Feng Qi couldn’t help but frown. “Yixin, why do you always refuse me? Tell me the reason so I can change. We can’t go on like this.”
Their intimacy always stopped at a kiss. Feng Qi only felt that being kept on a string like this was making him more and more insatiable.
Wen Ning’an said slowly, “Huaitian, just give me a little more time, alright…”
Feng Qi sighed and finally said no more, just changing the subject with a smile. “Now you believe me, right? No matter what you look like, I still find you beautiful, so much that I can’t help myself… hehe.”
Wen Ning’an was speechless.
Feng Qi picked up a paper fan with one hand and patted the seat beside him with the other. “Come here, I’ll fan you.”
After the recent struggle, a thin layer of sweat had formed on Wen Ning’an’s body. Feng Qi remembered the imperial physician’s instructions clearly and knew that salty sweat was bad for the wounds.
“There’s no need to trouble you. It’s alright. Huaitian is the Son of Heaven, you should…”
“Come here.” Having been refused twice in a row, Feng Qi seemed a little annoyed and directly interrupted Wen Ning’an.
Wen Ning’an sighed inwardly and sat down beside Feng Qi, letting him rest his head on his shoulder.
Although Feng Qi had promised him before and had even tried to change, it ultimately couldn’t last, and he couldn’t change the temper he had had for many years.
Wen Ning’an took the initiative to link his arm with Feng Qi’s. It will get better one day. They are both slowly changing. Wen Ning’an thought to himself, Perhaps he and Feng Qi are not that suitable for each other, but no one is more suitable than me.
Xingxing finally stopped its antics, jumped onto Wen Ning’an, and, resting its head on his lap, fell into a deep sleep in the cool breeze. A quietness fell over the carriage. The little wolf cub rested on Wen Ning’an, and Wen Ning’an rested on Feng Qi.
The summer villa, situated in the mountains, was surrounded by man-made rivers and pools, and many ancient wells had also been dug, making it very cool. Xingxing was extremely excited in the new environment and soon disappeared without a trace. In any case, there were still many servants in the villa, so Wen Ning’an was not worried. He just followed Feng Qi to their room.
The servants at the villa had already taken ice from the ice cellar and placed it in Feng Qi and Wen Ning’an’s room. The moment Wen Ning’an stepped into the room, he felt a gust of cool air on his face, which was extremely comfortable.
Feng Qi said, “There will be chilled mung bean soup later. The villa originally had chilled rice wine in storage, but you have to avoid sour, spicy, and stimulating things these days, so let’s forget about the wine.”
The mung bean soup was brought up by a servant. The two of them drank the sweet soup and enjoyed the cool breeze, their moods improving.
“Yixin, what do you want to do now that we’re here?”
Wen Ning’an thought for a moment. “I want to spar with you.”
“Heh, as expected.” Feng Qi shook his head and smiled. “Wait until you’ve recovered, then feel free to come at me. If you can win, it’s your victory.”
Wen Ning’an was not pleased. He swallowed the sweet liquid in his mouth and said, “Who will win and who will lose is still unknown. If I really win, what will you do?”
“Hahahaha,” Feng Qi said. “Let’s talk about it after you win.”
Wen Ning’an said seriously, “If I win, you have to grant me three requests.”
“Deal.” Feng Qi wasn’t worried. Firstly, he was sure he would win, and secondly, even without these conditions, he would grant Wen Ning’an’s requests one by one.
As they were talking, they saw Xingxing rush in through the bamboo door, the force of its entry even causing the door to slam back with a rattling sound.
Seeing bloodstains on Xingxing’s back, Wen Ning’an was startled and hurried forward to pick it up and check.
“What’s wrong?”
After a careful inspection, Wen Ning’an said with a sigh of relief, “It’s not Xingxing’s blood.”
After being put down by Wen Ning’an, Xingxing bit the hem of his robe and pulled him towards the door, letting out anxious, low growls of “awoo, awoo.”
Wen Ning’an and Feng Qi looked at each other. Was Xingxing trying to lead them somewhere?
Feng Qi put down his mung bean soup. “Let’s go. Let’s see what the little cub has found.”
The two followed Xingxing’s steps through one courtyard after another. Wen Ning’an shook his head inwardly. In such a short time, the little wolf cub has run quite far.
Xingxing finally stopped in front of a rockery.
Wen Ning’an looked around and saw an orange object near the pool… The object seemed to be a living creature. Upon closer inspection, he could see its body rising and falling slightly.
“A little tiger cub?” Wen Ning’an turned to Feng Qi. “It’s an injured little tiger cub.”
Seeing Wen Ning’an holding the tiger cub in his arms, Feng Qi smiled. “I’ll have someone investigate where this cub came from. If there are no problems, Xingxing will have a new playmate.”
