I want to thank everyone so much for the comments on chapter 7! To be honest, I don't feel like continuing but when everyone was eagerly waiting for the next chapter, it motivates me to continue! So here it is! I hope you enjoyed reading it~! /(;7;)\
================================
Who would have thought the Emperor suddenly changed his mind? Everyone in that hall stared at the fake concubine in astonishment, could not believe their ears to hear the astounding monarch demanded the clumsy concubine to accompany him for the night after he caught her in the most disgraceful demeanour earlier.
The Emperor's words were absolute.
Ruolan can simply not decline it just because he does not want to do it, but even if he does, he was only seeking for death. Sigh, speaking of death, were the path he was walking now not the road to the hell's gate, the Emperor's chamber?
His forehead poured with sweats and his face already lost its colour when they left the hall. Ah, it seemed like the saying "even if you stay safe in your house and kept the door locked, the calamity will still fall upon you without fail" was true after all. Not to mention, he did not forget to take a glance to the ladies in his surrounding, judging from the way those women stared at him, especially those two concubines whom were suppose to accompany the Emperor, Ruolan knew well that he just made lots of enemies this time... Even though it was not his purpose. Aii... Women's greatest enemy were women themselves...
After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the Emperor's chamber. The room was large, yet it only has few decorations. It looked empty. It has been said that His Majesty has lots of rooms in the palace so the room must been rarely use which was why the place looked a bit deserted.
Ruolan gulped, the butterflies in his stomach started to dance, throbbing him with nervousness when those servants went out and closed the door, leaving only Xuan Yu and him alone in the huge room. He stared at the other man went towards the bed and lay on his side, his chin rested on his knuckle and with the solemn expression he bore in his face, he said: "Entertain me."
Huh? E-entertain him? Ruolan stared at the man before him with a blank and confuse face; he noticed Xuan Yu's expression was calm and not the kind of face inviting someone to his bed... But held many unrevealed intentions to him, what was the man up to?
The Emperor thought that she was rather slow upon seeing her blurry expression, Xuan Yu could not help but to frown. "Do not keep me waiting."
Ruolan panicked then knelt down, his body was shaking greatly like a leaf when he saw that cold and frightening face. "Ahh, Concubine Shu has just come out an idea on what she should do to entertain His Majesty!" After saying these words, Ruolan immediately wracked out his brain while his eyes secretly glanced around the room to find anything that could be use to entertain the Emperor. However, with the fewer things in that room, was there anything that could please Xuan Yu?
While searching, his eyes suddenly spotted the vase of orchids placed over the window and the calligraphic painting hung on the wall, Ruolan's mind instantly flashed an idea out of the stuffs he just saw. Xuan Yu was a royal, so he thought that royalties must had loved art and literature so much. Not only that, he could buy some time to distract Xuan Yu and think of a way to escape from the chamber before he could even laid a finger on him. Ruolan smiled at the Emperor and said in a cheerful demeanour rang with confident tone in his voice. "Your concubine will do His Majesty a poem!"
Xuan Yu stared at her in surprise; he did not expect for her to do poetry since normally any women would already jump onto him and begin their 'move' to bring the Emperor into the seventh heaven. It was unpredictable yet he did not decline the offer. Curious. How will this concubine of his going to entertain him with her poem even though Xuan Yu was not really in a mood for such thing at the moment.
The Emperor smirked then gestured his hand. "Please."
It looked like his plan went well but Ruolan was not fully sure about it. Xuan Yu seemed to be a patient man, however, Ruolan had no idea why he felt uncomfortable upon seeing the crooked smile as if it hid thousands of unpleasant intentions. Since the first time he met Xuan Yu until now, he never saw Xuan Yu's genuine smile other than that little smirk even during those beautiful ladies served him just now. Hmm, maybe this man does not really know on how to put a sweet smile on his face?
But he put those unnecessary thought aside and stood up for he began on reciting.
Various kinds of flowers scattered in the royal garden
All with their own remarkable beauties and fragrances
The lord's eyes was captivated by the ravishing pink flower
Its head rose higher towards the sun
Its long, slender but alluring body stood elegantly in the small vase
Its petals was soft and gentle when touched
Quietly followed where the wind blew
A lovely flower captivated any mortal's eyes
Held the meaning of joy and happiness
The orchid.
Ruolan let out a small sigh of relief when he finished, he actually could not believe himself reciting such poem when he was not really into poetry. Back in the Shu household, his master had a scholar friend whom used to visit them often when Ruolan and Shu Xiaofan was still a small child. Sometimes he would tell them a story and sometimes he would recited them poems. Because of these advantages he had during his stay with the Shu family, although he could only grasp it a little, at least he was able to use the little knowledge to compose a short poem.
When Xuan Yu listened to Ruolan's literary piece, his face slightly turned into a dull and unamused expression. "Why orchid?"
Ruolan stood rigid in his position; sweats slid down from his forehead and nervously answered the Emperor's question. "This is because your concubine thought that Your Majesty loves orchid?"
"I dislikes orchid." Xuan Yu replied in a flat tone.
The room fell incredibly silent afterwards.
Ruolan stared speechlessly at the Emperor, his prediction has gone wrong. Silly boy, even if an orchid placed in the room, does not mean the owner of the room favoured it. Aii, he honestly wanted to slap himself for the stupid mistake he just committed. But what was the orchid doing there in the first place anyway...?
Ruolan had no idea on what to reply the Emperor instead he immediately knelt again and apologised. He thought that Xuan Yu was going to punish him this time for real but suddenly he heard the man solemnly said, "Perform me a dance."
The young man looked at the Emperor with a blurry face again before changed into a shock and nervous expression. Wait a minute; Xuan Yu wanted him to dance, right here and right now?! Was this one of a must activity to trigger the Emperor's sacred 'dragon'?! Good Heaven, Xuan Yu sure has some of weird fetish...
Let's put those weird thinking aside first, silly Ruolan. It was a relief that Xuan Yu was not going to punish him however; the Emperor's demand was too sudden. The only thing that Ruolan did at the moment was standing frozen in his spot because he actually knew nothing about the art of dancing! He wanted to explain the fact about that but disobeying the Emperor's order was like welcoming a sword to be slashed over his neck, so he had no choice but to choke back his words and helplessly do as the emperor said.
Ruolan closed both of his eyes and took a deep breath to relax himself while his optimistic mind keep on insisting him to give it a try. It is only a dance, a dance... Even if I made a small mistake, I will only have to explain to him that I never dance before; maybe he will understand and forgive me... Although I could not guarantee that I would be given a second chance...
In one quick moment he lifted his arms and made the long sleeves moved swiftly along with his rhythm, the soft and lustrous cloth slowly slid down to his elbow, exposing his snowy-white skins while both of his hands were still on the air. His eyes that once shut before was now revealing those pair of greenish-brown crystal, staring straight at the Emperor's own with confidence. Ruolan was ready for the dance.
Xuan Yu raised his eyebrow in surprise when their pairs of eyes met; the way she stared at him and those beautiful fair skins that still hung on the air gave the Emperor a feeling that the performance will be an eye catching one. The thin and straight line that he bore in his face unconsciously curved upwards, eagerly waiting for her to perform a dance.
In fact, Ruolan did not even know why he made such move when he was obviously like a piece of blank paper to anything related to dance. However, seeing the other man's small response to his not-so-amazing pose, Ruolan knew he was all ready to see him dance. Without delaying any longer, the young man began his move and randomly moved around since he did not know on where to start first. Ruolan realize that dancing with a long skirt was rather difficult and bothersome if compared to wearing pants, obviously he would make a mistake if he did not being careful while performing.
He was doing well when all of the sudden he felt something stuck below his skirt that caused him to lost his balance, with a loud yelp, Ruolan straight away fell with his face first landed on the cold hard floor. Meanwhile, the amused face of the Emperor wore at the moment instantly swiped off witnessing the very unfortunate scene before him.
It was his foot... His bloody own foot stepped onto his skirt and tripped down! Ruolan really ashamed of his own clumsiness to the point of hiding in a small hole and never show up in front of this man again! Ruolan picked himself up then knelt on the floor for the embarrassment and shame he felt. "C-Concubine Shu had disappointed Your Majesty and she is ashamed of her mistake; please forgive this stupid concubine for she is not talented enough in the art of dancing!"
The Emperor stared at the kneeling figure before him, dissatisfaction clearly written over Xuan Yu's face for his entertainment completely ruined in one simple mistake she had just conducted. How disappointing! There were hundreds of women in the palace yet Xuan Yu purposely chose and gave her a chance to personally perform in front of the Emperor but this was what the he received? "You are indeed an untalented woman. My time has been wasted and I am no longer desire anymore of your foolish show. The night is getting late, it is time for you to come and join me in the bed." He said those words in a cold and deep voice, his hand were patting the bed as a sign of inviting her to come into his bed.
Ruolan stammered, his face darkened with waterfall black of lines and his body unconsciously stood in fright. "Y-Y-Your Majesty..."
The Emperor found her panic behaviour irritating; Xuan Yu rose from the bed to get closer to the false concubine, rendered her to retreat involuntary until her back met the cold wall behind him. Ruolan realized he could not run anywhere else, plus, with Xuan Yu's scary expression, he could not help but to tremble in fear just like a frightened rabbit hunted and cornered by a fierce and hungry wolf in the forest.
The moment when Xuan Yu saw the frightened face, he sincerely failed to understand why she reacted that way when he already gave her any women's desire, the attention and the privilege to spend a night with the Emperor... But why did she still behave this way? Could it be that Xuan Yu had guessed her real intention wrong?
When he thought about it, Xuan Yu gritted his teeth and pinned the woman onto the wall. "Why do you have to pretend to be scared? You should be contented to have the Emperor picked you to accompany His Majesty tonight. This rare and golden opportunity should not be wasted, yes?"
Ruolan did not dare to look straight into the pair of phoenix eyes; instead he faced away and decided not to speak a word. Deeply in his heart, if he was born as a real woman, obviously he would be happy and honoured to be selected to accompany the Emperor. However, with his current identity as a fake woman... Sigh, how could he be rejoicing when death was waiting him like an open door?
Xuan Yu was impatient and cold-blooded by nature, the reason why he restrained himself tonight was because of the rare scene he saw during dinner. He thought this woman was a smart and different than any other women to conduct such act just to attract and stop him from leaving the hall, but his guess was wrong. She was no smart, she was just another fool and a clumsy country bumpkin that was mistakenly added to the Imperial Harem by the people who did not do their job right.
Not to mention, she dared to shut her lips from answering the Emperor, the man who was blessed by The Heaven and the man above all, this Xiong Xuan Yu? Atrocious! No one ever dare to behave like this in his entire of life times but this lowly and ungrateful concubine dare show this kind of demeanour to him. Could not control his emotion any longer; he immediately grabbed her wrist, dragged then coldly threw her hard on the bed.
The bed was soft and comfortable, even if Ruolan was thrown hard on it, he did not feel a slight pain at all. But of course, none would have the time to think over those unnecessary things when the other man was already on top of him before he could have the chance to get off from the bed.
"Play time is over." Xuan Yu took off of his outer robe then tossed it aside from the bed.
When he saw the man above him begin to undress himself, Ruolan's body was shaking fright for he was now in a tragic situation he had feared the most. The dark secret that he kept since the first day he entered the palace will be unfolded by the Emperor soon if he did not do something to prevent him. Alarmed to the situation he was in; Ruolan clamped his legs hard and held tightly the collar of his chest. In any men's eyes, he resembled a woman trying to protect her chastity but in fact, he was protecting himself, his real identity as a man.
Xuan Yu clicked his tongue in annoyance; he could not help but to be more irritated of her. "You are my woman, why do you need to do this? Even if you strongly oppose, I will still do it without hesitation. This is what a man and a woman should do, now be a good woman and open your legs."
Right now, Ruolan really wished to bang his head on the wall for a suicide. Even if Xuan Yu did not say it, he clearly knew that kind of act between men and women were normal, but the problem was, they were both men and that was not normal! He cannot leisurely reply the Emperor 'Hey, you are man and so am I! we cannot conduct such shameful act!'. Well, of course this poor man was not brave enough to say those words out loud; instead he held his chest more tightly. "F-Forgive me, Your Majes...Oh..."
Before Ruolan could finish his words, suddenly he saw Xuan Yu leaned closer to him then locked his petal like lips together, not allowing him to say anything. Even though Ruolan never had the chance to taste a love affair when he was still living as a commoner, but he knew exactly the act was somewhat wrong especially when both of them were in the same gender. He realized his situation was turning worse so he pushed the Emperor away and struggled hard as if there were no more tomorrow.
Her sudden struggle surprised Xuan Yu, from the outside look, the person beneath him looked like a fragile and vulnerable type of person, but the strength that this little fretful possessed was not much like a woman. How could this be...? Since the matter has come to this, Xuan Yu decided to pin both of her hands to prevent her from moving recklessly. Luck on the Dragon side, it seemed like the little rabbit was no longer able to move freely after the 'catch'. This made Xuan Yu rejoice with his victory over the person under him.
Ruolan was now seized. His hands were both pressed to his sides, the strength that the Emperor had was inferior compared to him. Ruolan cannot even move both of his hand to stop Xuan Yu from continuing his unwanted move. For the first time he realized that he was not as strong as he think of, his strength maybe could surpass women's but not to a man. Ruolan was ashamed of himself, not only he had this bloody feminine figure he despised since small but also possessed a woman's strength. How shameful!
But this thought did not shake his resolve and kept on protecting himself. Even if Xuan Yu knew his real self, at least let that be when Ruolan already gone to the other side of the world so he would not have to bear shame for his sin for deceiving the Emperor.
Xuan Yu thought after he held the woman, it would prevent her from moving harshly, instead her resistance had become more and more vigorous than earlier. This little rabbit sure knew how to play hard to get, but do not think that I could let you off that easily. After I tame you, I will make sure that tonight you will be begging for more... Xuan Yu licked the corner of his lip then opened his mouth to fill her own again. This time he was like a mad rainstorm, roughly kissed, bit and sucking the cherry like lips as if he was going to consume her whole.
The kiss has blocked his air path and made his face turned all red like a cooked prawn, even if he tried to gasp for air, Xuan Yu does not let him. Heaven, this kind of kiss suffocated him and made his body became feeble at once. Since he never kiss nor being kissed by anyone before, he did not know how to avoid or stop the kisses. Not to mention, with his pairs of arms being seized, Ruolan does not have a single chance to fight back and stop Xuan Yu.
Xuan Yu has been familiar with such practice thus he can hold his breath for a longer of time. When he felt her resistance gradually became weak, he no longer worry because he knew she will submit to him soon. The Emperor's hands that originally pressing the other's now moving freely without disturbance, caressing her side and slowly slid down to her thigh. Meanwhile, those thin and red lips had moved its target to the neck then began to suck and gnawed on it.
Only when the Emperor released their lips was the moment Ruolan could gasp a mouthful of air to fill his lung. His body trembled powerlessly because of the suffocating kiss. Even though he was muddleheaded because of the feverish kiss, his brain still able to process the situation and immediately came back to his senses when he felt something warm and wet sucking and biting somewhere around his neck. Moreover, with Xuan Yu's hand stroking his side to his thigh... It was impossible for Ruolan to accept such indecent act, rendered him to shiver in horror knowing the fact that he was touched by another man, and was the Emperor himself!
"Y-Your Majes—"
He whispered hoarsely but halted in midway when suddenly the large and slender palm covered his whole mouth, preventing him from making any sound. Ruolan tried to push Xuan Yu away but no to avail; he could not overtake him for he was stronger than him. No... This cannot be...Must not happen... He must not let this man know his secret for he was not ready to face the worst outcome, the Emperor's fury expression when he learned the truth about him. He was not even ready to face the world with his shameful sin. Heaven, why must he suffer this kind of punishment?
Ruolan felt his stomach twisted with pain, his head spun madly and his vision was all blurred. The world that once lightened with candlelight suddenly turned into a dark pitch black. Before he lost his consciousness, he heard his mind speaking in a quiet and soft voice:
Please, let this be bad dream...
End of Chapter 8