[BL] Eternal Spring ✔️

第十五章

The two of them acted like nothing happened that night but Liu Qingyuan could sense the fleeting glances that the king constantly sent him. In response, Liu Qingyuan steeled his heart and no longer looked him in the eye. Every time he was near him, he reminded himself that he was an assassin sent by Gongzhuan to eliminate the very person he was guarding. There was no more room for slip-ups! Liu Qingyuan, this person, had never messed up this badly before.

If the king discovered who he truly was, he'd surely be executed and then the entire plan would be destroyed. Gongzhuan was still healing from the war, while Qiangda had bounced back greatly. If Qiangda decided to fully conquer Gongzhuan to stamp out any troubles, the result was already apparent.

Furthermore, his master had entrusted him to carry this out. He owed a debt to Mo Wu for saving his life and raising him so many winters ago. If he didn't work to repay him, he was simply ungrateful!

While Liu Qingyuan was reciting his purpose in his head, the king was trying to reconcile with him. Being born a ruler, he was bored of receiving everything on a silver platter. But now that he'd gotten a taste of something he truly wanted, he wasn't willing to let it go. Liu Qingyuan could pretend that nothing happened that night, fine! But if they were to reconcile, his behaviour was definitely no help.

Every time he tried to tease him, Liu Qingyuan no longer reacted, standing like a statue with an impassive, stone face. It made him wonder if all those times before were fake. And somehow, that bothered him more than the fact that he hadn't turned into some brainless, flattering servant. Further still, this silence was frustrating him to no end! Conversations often went like this:

"Have some tea."

"No thanks, your majesty."

"Try this cake! It's peach and osman-"

"No thanks, your majesty."

"Do you want to practice swords with me?"

"Your majesty's body is precious, it must not be hurt." In other words, 'No thanks, your majesty!' Maybe had turned into a brainless servant!

It drove the king crazy and he was so annoyed, a storm cloud stayed floating above his head, causing the servants to give him a wide berth every time they passed by. After all, though he was a kind and benevolent king, he still held their lives in the palms of his hands.

Jiang Zhilan was currently sitting in an open-air, raised pavilion by the lake, trying to practice his calligraphy but the remembrance of Liu Qingyuan's constant short response invaded his head instead. It made him hyper-aware of the stiff presence standing guard right behind him.

Liu Qingyuan was absentmindedly looking out over the lake. But unbeknownst to all, he was trying to ignore the presence in front of him. Eunuch Shuang stood at the bottom of the pavilion's short flight of stairs, sending the pair anxious glances. He distinctly felt that there was a dragon and a tiger sitting in the pavilion, a mere second away from devouring each other's throats.

The king grew more and more irritated, feeling like a thousand ants were crawling on his back from the mere presence of Liu Qingyuan. He just couldn't ignore him! He clenched the brush tighter in his grip, trying to recite Confucian* scripture in his head. The silence between them was unbearable to him but he didn't want to face the humiliation of rejection once again. He was the king of this country, save him some dignity!

(*Confucian - Ancient Chinese belief system that focuses on the importance of personal ethics and morality)

Finally fed up, Jiang Zhilan threw down his brush. It rolled across the paper, splattering ink all over the half-finished sheet. "Stop standing there like that!"