[BL] Eternal Spring

第八章

The king had fallen asleep a while ago and Liu Qingyuan stood guarding his door outside. The attendants had left one by one, drifting away like leaves in the wind. He didn't stand guard everyday like this, or else he'd be a walking zombie from lack of sleep. Tonight, he had a specific intention.

Past midnight, Liu Qingyuan checked his surroundings and quietly slid open the door behind him. He slipped into the king's chambers, soundlessly closing the doors. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness after the soft lamplight of the hall.

Liu Qingyuan wove around the room, narrowly avoiding smashing his shin into a low table. First he made his way to the bed to make sure the king was asleep.

A ray of moonlight shone through the slightly open window and onto the king's figure, banishing the shadows and making him look like a delicate beauty. The pale arch of his neck, the fans of his eyelashes and the slow rise and fall of his chest mesmerized him. Jiang Zhilan shifted, snuffling in his sleep and Liu Qingyuan rapidly looked away.

'Snap out of it! What are you doing?!' Liu Qingyuan cursed himself, quickly turning and approaching the bookcase instead. Sending the occasional glance to the king's still sleeping form, he searched through the books. There was a chance there was still a written piece of evidence about the Qiangda flower.

When the books yielded no result, he searched the rest of the room, steps light on the floorboard. His frustration rose as his search revealed nothing. He knew it wasn't going to be easy but something made him antsy about being around the king these days.

Liu Qingyuan looked over at the bed after circling the room again. He realized that the only place he hadn't searched was under the bed. Jiang Zhilan still slept soundly. Liu Qingyuan paused, gazing at the pale flesh of his exposed neck. If he was an ordinary man, he'd be dead in his bed, throat slit. But unfortunately, he wasn't, and so Liu Qingyuan let him live on.

After one last glance, he ducked his head under the bed. He stretched his fingers out...and hit a box. It took a bit of maneuvering to yank out the box, Liu Qingyuan's shoulder straining from the effort. He kneeled by the bed, glancing again at the sleeping king before pulling from his hair, a small pin. The old lock quickly yielded in his hands and the creaky lid opened. There wasn't much in the box, just a bunch of old papers and a couple books that were falling apart. Liu Qingyuan took the liberty to flip through them anyways and was rewarded for his efforts.

In the center of the book titled, Jiang Imperial Family, there was a section about some of the greatest artifacts of the family. Before he could read further, an arm flopped into his vision. Liu Qingyuan froze, the king's arm an inch from his nose. He turned his head, scared of what he might see but he was still sleeping.

Liu Qingyuan quickly tucked the book into his robe, fixing the box and shoving it back under the bed. He stood hurriedly, foot crashing into the bed leg. Liu Qingyuan pitched forward, letting out a string of curses as his foot throbbed. He stopped his fall with his arms, narrowly avoiding crushing the king underneath him.

Liu Qingyuan sucked in a breath, glancing down at the odd predicament. One hand each was braced on either side of the king, who, amazingly, was still asleep. He let out a harsh breath, slowly retracting his arm and praying the king wouldn't wake from the shifting of weight in the bed.

Just as he was about to pull away, a small, warm hand encircled his wrist. "Qingyuan?" a sleepy voice muttered. He froze, eyes darting down and right into the king's sleepy gaze. They stared at each other for a long while. "What are you doing here?" The king's voice was raspy with sleep and the question pushed Liu Qingyuan into action. He tore his hand away, falling to the floor in a bow.