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Jing Heguang sprinted all the way, bursting through the door and practically storming into Xing Ming’s room.

Then, the two of them tumbled onto the bed.

In that moment of falling, Xing Ming suddenly recalled that he had, in fact, let Jing Heguang sleep in this very bed before.

At the same time, he remembered uncle Yu’s persistent questioning.

He truly didn’t know Jing Heguang’s background.

Was he really going to let things get so intimate without even knowing who the man was? A voice echoed in the back of Xing Ming’s mind.

Jing Heguang nuzzled playfully against his neck. Xing Ming took a deep breath and held up a hand to stop him.

Passion still lingered on Jing Heguang’s face, though his eyes held a look of confusion at being interrupted.

But then, it dawned on him, he had been too rough!

For someone like Xing Ming, a man from an ancient era, the pace of their relationship was surely moving too fast.

Yet, before Jing Heguang could compose himself, Xing Ming’s hand reached toward his collar.

Jing Heguang: ???

A stroke of luck like this?!

“I can do that myself.”

Xing Ming: …

Xing Ming’s hand slipped directly inside the collar, brushing against skin to grasp the two red cords hidden beneath.

A jade pendant hung from the longer cord, while a small official seal dangled from the shorter one.

As the cords were pulled, Jing Heguang understood exactly what Xing Ming meant.

He had been so intent on the man himself that he’d completely forgotten to reveal his identity!

Jing Heguang reached up and voluntarily pulled out the items attached to the red cords.

There lay a vibrant green jade pendant and a small, jet-black official seal featuring intricate craftsmanship.

Xing Ming raised his eyes, looking at Jing Heguang in bewilderment.

— Wasn’t this man supposed to be keeping things under wraps?

Yet here he was, pulling both items out himself.

What kind of game was this?

Jing Heguang first felt around and found the jade pendant. He picked it up to show Xing Ming, smiling as he said, “This pendant has the character ‘Jing’ on it,bit’s a family heirloom. If you want it, I’ll give it to you. But my mother said it’s only meant to give it to my marriage partner. Do you understand?”

Xing Ming pursed his lips and looked toward the small official seal.

Jing Heguang picked up the small seal as well. “This is a miniature version of my official seal, just as valid as the full-sized one, signifying a Fourth-Rank official. My father is the Earl of Dingnan, I’ve campaigned alongside him and risen through the ranks quite quickly. But I’m no useless young master, I’ve got real skill. I’ll show you the scars on my body!”

Seizing the chance to bring up his scars, Jing Heguang sat up and quickly stripped off his clothes.

With his lean, muscular upper body bare, he removed the long red cord and leaned down to ask Xing Ming, “Younger brother Xing, do you want them?”

The other man’s warm chest pressed right against his palm.

It felt as though he could hold the other’s heartbeat in his hand.

Xing Ming suspected…Jing Heguang was doing this on purpose!

Jing Heguang grinned mischievously, pressed down a little closer, and planted a kiss on the tip of Xing ming’s nose. “Younger brother Xing, just take them. I can’t hold back anymore.”

Xing Ming felt completely at Jing Heguang’s mercy.

He felt a twinge of defiance.

Xing Ming asked, “What about the other one? Can’t you give me both?”

“Alright.” Jing Heguang chuckled softly. “I’ll give them both to you.”

Jing Heguang removed the other cord as well and hung both items around Xing Ming’s neck.

And then…Jing Heguang spent the rest of the night simply admiring the view.

The green pendant swayed back and forth against skin as white as jade.

The bronze official seal rested against his collarbone, rolling from side to side and leaving behind several red marks from the friction.

At times, it would suddenly vanish, hiding amidst the dark locks of hair, only to reappear a moment later.

***

An hour later. Jing Heguang finished heating the water and carried it over to top up the bathing tub.

Inside the room…

A flush rose to Xing Ming’s cheeks as he shooed Jing Heguang away: “You go out first.” The room was spacious, yet it lacked any partitions, like a privacy screen, to separate the bathing area.

Jing Heguang shamelessly retorted, “We only heated this much water, let’s just bathe together.”

Xing Ming blushed even deeper.

Jing Heguang cleared his throat and spoke with a serious air: “Water is scarce in Wucheng, this way, we can save water.”

And so, relying on his thick skin, Jing Heguang squeezed himself into the tub as well.

Xing Ming turned red all over like a fully cooked shrimp.

Eavesdropping on this particular tryst tonight had truly been a costly mistake.

***

The night deepened.

Jing Heguang fell asleep holding Xing Ming, whose body carried a faint scent of tea.

Although Jing Heguang had been exhausted from the night’s exertions, the thrill of finally holding his beloved in his arms kept him awake for quite a while before he drifted off.

Little did he know, Xing Ming stayed awake even longer.

Xing Ming realized then that there was one thing he had forgotten to ask: what exactly had brought Jing Heguang to Wucheng?

Even though the answer was glaringly obvious, hearing Jing Heguang say it aloud would be different from merely guessing it.

Yet, after a moment’s thought, Xing Ming decided it didn’t really matter whether he asked or not.

Just as he had told uncle Yu, the reason for Jing Heguang’s arrival doesn’t change anything.

These past few days had been the happiest he had known since the tragedy that befell his family.

Seeing Jing Heguang made his heart feel lighter, as if his whole being were at ease.

He did not fear the worst possible outcome, so he resolved to simply enjoy each day of happiness as it came.

With this clear-headed acceptance, Xing Ming turned over, planted a kiss on Jing Heguang’s chin, and held him close as he drifted off to sleep.

However, perhaps finding the empty space on the outer side of the bed displeasing, Xing Ming slowly sat up, nudged the man toward the inner side, and lay down on the outer edge himself.

Jing Heguang was asleep, yet he was remarkably docile, a gentle push was all it took for him to roll inward on his own, moving as if he had rehearsed the action a thousand times over.

Xing Ming paid little heed to these details. It felt as though things were simply meant to be this way, that sense of familiarity prevented him from noticing anything amiss.

***

The next day.

The sun climbed over the walls of Wucheng, casting its warm, golden light benevolently upon everyone, noble or commoner alike, provided they were outdoors to receive it.

After finishing his morning practice, Chun Fen took his little shadow, Li Xia, for a stroll around the backyard.

He wondered aloud, “How come I haven’t seen the troupe leader today? Could it be that he was so upset by yesterday’s events…”

Mentioning yesterday’s incident made everyone in the theater troupe seethe with indignation.

“Don’t even mention the troupe leader, even I was furious myself. I was so worked up last night that I couldn’t fall asleep for ages.”

Chun Fen asked, “Has anyone seen the troupe leader?”

“I haven’t. Maybe he has other business to attend to?”

“He’s usually up early by this time.”

“I was the first one here, and I didn’t see him either.”

…

As they chatted, Li Xia chimed in, “I haven’t seen big brother Jing today, either.”

Hearing that no one had seen Xing Ming, Chun Fen became even more convinced that the troupe leader had been deeply upset. At Li Xia’s remark, Chun Fen tapped the boy’s forehead lightly.

“Brother Jing might be in the kitchen, or perhaps he’s still asleep. He isn’t like us, he isn’t used to rising so early.”

In Chun Fen’s mind, however, it was the troupe leader’s failure to rise early that was truly odd.

Uncle Yu wore a peculiar expression. He tugged at Chun Fen and said, “Don’t go calling for the troupe leader.”

“Why not?” Li Xia asked, voicing what everyone else was thinking.

Little Li Xia’s train of thought was simple: “If I oversleep, Brother Chun Fen always wakes me up.”

Uncle Yu replied, “The troupe leader didn’t get to sleep until very late last night, so you shouldn’t disturb him.”

It wasn’t technically a lie to say he had gone to sleep late.

He certainly wasn’t deceiving a child!

Although uncle Yu had offered an explanation, Chun Fen still found the situation strange.

In his memory, the troupe leader was the epitome of diligence. No matter what had happened the day before, he would always show up for morning practice the next day.

But since uncle Yu had forbidden them from disturbing the troupe leader, Chun Fen knew he had to listen.

***

It had been a good half-hour since the others in the opera troupe finished breakfast when the two of them finally woke up.

Xing Ming opened his eyes to find the sunlight already streaming brightly outside.

“It’s too late, it’s too late!”

As he spoke, he moved to lift the curtain and get up.

Jing Heguang was momentarily dazed, but his hands moved faster than his brain. He immediately pressed Xing Ming back down. “Younger brother Xing, take it easy.”

Pinned down, Xing Ming realized his entire body felt sore and weak.

He paused for a moment, then let out a breath. “It’s too late to make it anyway,” he said softly.

Jing Heguang asked curiously, “Does it matter if we’re late? It’s just one day, I’ll wake you up next time.”

Had he known Xing Ming needed to rise early, Jing Heguang certainly would have restrained himself last night rather than keeping them up so late.

“It’s nothing,” Xing Ming shook his head. “For a moment, I just felt as though my master were still here. Back then, being late meant a beating.”

Jing Heguang frowned. “Your troupe actually beat people?”

“Those between the ages of twelve and sixteen would get their palms struck with a bamboo rod to temper their character.”

Jing Heguang picked up Xing Ming’s hands and saw that they were fair and unblemished.

He guessed, “You must not have been beaten very often, right?”

Xing Ming’s hands were fair, with only a thin layer of calluses in the webs between his thumb and index finger.

Although he was an opera performer who had to master the use of swords, spears, and staves, his role as a ‘dan’, a female character, meant he paid extra attention to caring for his hands and face.

Jing Heguang’s hands stood in stark contrast to his own.

Jing Heguang’s hands were incredibly rough, the kind of weathered coarseness born of braving northern winds and crawling through the mud, a prominent scar ran from his forearm across the back of his hand.

Xing Ming couldn’t help but clasp Jing Heguang’s hand in return.

His touch was incredibly light, like the tickle of an ant against the heart.

Jing Heguang wrapped his arms tightly around him from behind and asked, “It’s a scar from the war, does it make your heart ache?”

It was a casual question, but Xing Ming answered quickly: “A little.”

“Whenever we were bullied by the Jin in the past, we always felt that the Wu’s was doing nothing. We didn’t realize you were fighting a war in the south, too.”

Jing Heguang said, “It is true, though. Because of the southern territories, we neglected Wucheng.”

“I understand the importance of the south. As long as you haven’t forgotten the people here, that’s enough.”

Xing Ming tilted his head back slightly, his gaze drifting toward the window to the side.

The window faced King Li’s manor, formerly the seat of the Wucheng prefectural government.

Yet, few people remembered the events of sixteen years ago.

But Xingming dared not forget where his home had once been.

Jing Heguang said, “Rest assured, we will reclaim Wucheng soon.”

Hearing this, Xing Ming turned to look at Jing Heguang.

Jing Heguang planted a kiss on his cheek. “Time to get up. I stewed some porridge for you.”

Xing Ming was astonished. “When did you make the porridge?”

He remembered that Jing Heguang had fallen asleep instantly the night before, clearly exhausted.

Yet, despite being so tired, he had still remembered to make porridge in the middle of the night or at the crack of dawn?

Xing Ming was deeply moved. The thoughts that had surfaced earlier began to churn within him.

He turned his head back, clasped one of Jing Heguang’s hands tightly with both of his own, and said with his head bowed, “Brother Jing, you treat me too well. It makes it so I won’t be able to let go of you.”

Jing Heguang wanted to say it was just a bowl of porridge, but his brows suddenly furrowed.

He lowered his voice, and a sharp, stern look returned to his face: “You want to let go of me?!”