Chapter 123: Teaching the Little Fool to Open His Eyes
Wei Wanlan was a bit bewildered by the question. He tilted his head in the mirror, his small claws pulling the quilt up high.
He covered half of his small face, revealing only his eyes. His deer-like eyes blinked, and his voice trembled slightly:
“Regent King is the most, most important person.”
He thought for a moment, then added, “You care about Zhen, take care of Zhen. Many things you do are for Zhen, even though the Wei Imperial Family wronged you. Zhen must also return fairness to the Su family for your sake! Regent King, you will always be number one in Zhenâs heart…”
Wei Wanlan spoke at length just like that.
The meaning was correct, and the direction wasn’t too far off. Su Jingzhi secretly let out a small sigh of relief.
But.
Between them, the heat was still lacking just a little.
Wei Wanlan only realized that they were good to each other, but he couldn’t clearly perceive that this kindness was irreplaceable by anyone elseâdifferent from the kindness others showed him. This was love.
All his care and attention for Wei Wanlan came from his love for him.
He loved Xiao Wan, and he hoped the Little Fool could understand.
They couldn’t be just friends, and Su Jingzhi certainly never wanted to be Wei Wanlanâs elder.
“It doesn’t matter. We can only take it slowly.”
The Regent shook his head gently. He slowly pulled Wei Wanlanâs head toward him and kissed the top of his hair. Instantly, a soft fragrance rushed straight to his brain, making his pores stand on end.
Wei Wanlan, suddenly kissed, didn’t react much, as if it had naturally become a habit. He simply asked curiously:
“Whatâs wrong, Regent King? Suddenly talking to yourself.”
“Nothing. Xiao Wan, before long, you will understand.”
Wei Wanlan listened, half-understanding, and nodded vaguely. He only felt that for no reason, his whole body felt even warmer. He rolled over, out of habit, tumbling into the Regentâs arms like a small animal, grabbing Su Jingzhiâs lapel and yawning.
“Then, goodnight, Regent King. Letâs meet in the dream too, okay?”
“En.”
Wei Wanlan buried himself expectantly deeper into Su Jingzhiâs woodsy scent. the tip of his trembling nose rubbed against the Regentâs chest a few times, appearing all the more docile and moving.
However, a certain Regent who appeared to have inner peace actually couldn’t sleep well all night.
Because he…
Under the influence of the Nine Dragon Mirrorâ
“Your Highness. His Majesty has been waiting for you since nightfall.”
“Your Highness, His Majesty is wearing only inner garments.”
“…”
It was still this bed in Zichen Hall, still the same day, the same scene.
Early in the morning, Wei Wanlan had urged him to return early. Su Jingzhi obeyed, spending his time at the Beiya distracted, and the waiting scene flashed by.
Then, returning to Zichen Hall, An Ruyi prepared hot water and dismissed the maids and eunuchs.
The lights in Zichen Hall were dim, the vision obscure, possessing a mystery like being veiled in thin gauze. The dragon bedâs curtains were softly closed.
Su Jingzhi lifted a corner of the bed curtain.
His eyes were momentarily dazzled by Wei Wanlanâs snow-white, silver-fish-like arches.
His gaze caused Wei Wanlan to freeze.
Wei Wanlan smiled innocently at him, and increasingly unaware of the danger, lifted his legs and pointed his toes. The tips of his toes, illuminated by the palace lantern, looked like warm jade.
Su Jingzhiâs throat rolled.
Actually, a night in early summer could by no means be called hot, yet the Regent was breathing deeply, feeling the temperature rising within his erratic breath.
Wei Wanlan raised his small face. “Regent King… come here, Regent King.”
The Little Fool simply wanted to get up and beckoned him with a hooked finger.
But the moment he retracted his toes, he was caught off guard as his entire arch was gripped.
The snow-white foot jumped like a silver fish!
His foot controlled tightly by Su Jingzhi, Wei Wanlan panicked slightly.
Su Jingzhi used his rough, calloused fingertips to caress Wei Wanlanâs exquisite, petite ankle.
The moment his fingertips slowly slid over the ankle bone, which was like a rolling bead, the snow-white skin was stained with a layer of rosy red marks.
Wei Wanlanâs deer eyes instantly turned red.
His pupils were moist, tears trembling in his eyes.
” Wu…”
That mix of unfamiliarity, rawness, and anticipation made Su Jingzhiâs breathing a few degrees heavier.
Wei Wanlan instinctively retracted his paws backward; he was trembling.
Su Jingzhi ruthlessly pinched his own palm!
The curtains of the dragon bed were moving, and his breathing was trembling too.
He wanted to force himself to let go of the ignorant Wei Wanlan, not wanting to scare him, mobilizing countless ounces of reason and restraint.
But he found that when he let go of Xiao Wan, Wei Wanlanâs eyes flickered with confusion. Xiao Wan breathed slowly amidst the soft bedding, tilting his head in puzzlement.
“Don’t go. Don’t leave…”
Xiao Wan reached out his arms to him.
The gesture of asking him to stay caused his reason to disintegrate in that instant!
Su Jingzhi could no longer hold back. He pressed down ruthlessly, his lips covering Wei Wanlanâs soft lips, probing deep to plunder fiercely.
He sensed Wei Wanlanâs sudden panic.
However, it didn’t last long. Because Xiao Wan realized the person kissing him was him, Xiao Wan was filled with trust and gradually adapted.
Xiao Wan visibly softened, turning from a fresh peach into the spring waters of March.
He buried his face in the Regentâs shoulder. From initial adaptation, he turned to soft whimpering, until he was kissed beyond control, gasping for breath accompanied by sobbing.
Everything that followed happened naturally.
The intimate affairs in the dream transitioned from a gentle breeze and drizzle to a violent storm in no time.
The function of the Nine Dragon Mirror was to create dreams.
Dreams are the truest reflection of the human heart.
But before this, even the Regent himself hadn’t realized it.
He had always thought himself rational, thinking he could wait.
Yet in his mind, he actually hoped to be this “fierce” to Wei Wanlan. All his restraint was merely a façade; he had long been unable to hold back, though he thought he could control it…
In his true thoughts, what he wanted to do to Wei Wanlan most were exactly these fierce things that would make the Little Fool cry.
Su Jingzhi woke from the dream covered in hot sweat.
The Regent, his state of mind completely disrupted by this dream, could only get up in the middle of the night to bathe. Then, he changed into a complete set of clean, brand-new inner clothes, only to meet the confused expression of An Ruyi, who was keeping watch.
An Ruyi raised his eyebrows, his eyes a bit dull, his expression very puzzled, looking as if he was about to ask directly: “Your Highness, youâve enjoyed yourself enough, aren’t you going to wash His Majesty too?”
Not wanting to face this awkwardness, the Regent hurriedly returned to the room.
As it happened, Wei Wanlan was sleeping soundly on the dragon couch.
Sure enough, in his dream, the Little Fool had run off to Qingqiu Mountain, where petting foxes was very delightful.
The dream reflected in reality: Wei Wanlan burrowed into Su Jingzhi, touching here and there. This provoked the Regent, who already couldn’t withstand the teasing, to dream of this bed again, and once again share bouts of intimate clouds and rain with Wei Wanlan in the dream.
âThis Zichen Hall is impossible to sleep in!!!
Filled with suppressed restlessness, the Little Fool appeared all the more innocent and pure by contrast.
He could just roll over and take the Little Fool by force.
Wei Wanlan didn’t understand anything; mostly likely, he would half-refuse and half-submit just like in the dream and it would be done… but a dream is different from reality after all. Neither the Regentâs upbringing nor his character allowed it.
This made Su Jingzhi suddenly realize that he actually faced the heavy responsibility of teaching the Little Fool to grow up as soon as possible.
Before, he wanted to wait slowly.
But now, Su Jingzhi discovered this really wasn’t something that could wait!
After all, it was entirely possible that Wei Wanlan would never figure it out.
If he waited for Wei Wanlan to improve on his own initiative, the two of them might still be playing “house” and chatting under the covers ten years from now.
Su Jingzhi, feeling both sweetness and vexation, pinched the Little Foolâs nose, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly in the dim light.
There was no way to sleep properly now. He switched to closing his eyes and regulating his breathing, beginning to calculate which step to start with to make Wei Wanlan realize they were different from others.
…
The early summer sky brightened early; it was broad daylight.
This morning, Wei Wanlanâs schedule was to go to the Department of State Affairs (Zhongshu Sheng).
Su Jingzhi didn’t know the specifics of what court affairs he was arranging, and Su Jingzhi had his own schedule; he couldn’t accompany the Little Fool in everything.
Although the Little Fool now held military power, Wei Wanlan possessed no outstanding talent for military affairs. His soft character of always considering others was far too lacking. Military intelligence concerned the life and death of soldiers; even if the Tiger Tally was in Wei Wanlanâs hand, Su Jingzhi couldn’t let go of the reins too much.
So, the plan for today was to pick up the Little Emperor at the Department of State Affairs after finishing at the Ministry of War.
Xiao Wan liked walking more than riding in a palanquin. He wanted to hold his hand and walk for a while, walk to the Taiye Pool to relax and row a boat. By increasing the visibility of their intimate interactions within the palace, they would naturally go public, while simultaneously making the Little Fool understand they were in love.
Yes, he would do exactly that.
Recently, most court military affairs were internal deployments within the borders.
In the early days of the dynasty, the Great Wei military adopted the Fubing system (militia system). Militia soldiers farmed in peacetime and gathered to fight in wartime, continuing the precedents of previous dynasties.
However, the combat effectiveness of such soldiers was far different from professional warriors. Great Wei had suffered quite a few losses when fighting the Turks, so several generations of Su family generals successively pushed for military reformârunning the Fubing system and the recruitment system in parallel.
This move improved the combat power of the standing army without reducing the number of troops or placing too great a burden on the courtâs finances.
If there was anything troublesome about this move… it lay in the military decision-making level. To ensure the quality of recruited soldiers, the Ministry of War had to arrange for troops from various circuits to leave their garrisons for drills every year at the start of summer, known academically as the “Summer Martial Exams.”
Generations of Su family generals placed extreme importance on this military activity, and various matters always had to be personally overseen.
However, even though Su Jingzhi was swamped at the Ministry of War, he actually managed to complete all deployments related to the Summer Martial Exams half an hour early with indescribable work efficiency. At the beginning of the Shen hour (3-5 PM), he led Tang Tuan to the outside of the Department of State Affairs.
Inside the Department, a meeting was in progress.
Cicadas chirped in the summer heat. Through the indistinct gauze curtains, Su Jingzhiâs gaze locked onto Wei Wanlan. Since his vision had recovered, his eyesight was even sharper than before, causing Tang Tuan to click his tongue in secret, stuffed to the brim with dog food.
“Greetings, Your Highness, General Tang.”
The petty official in charge of documents immediately moved to announce them.
Su Jingzhi waved his hand to stop him, standing with his hands behind his back, looking into the curtain from afar, letting the official go about his business. Would suddenly appearing before Wei Wanlan like this spark joy in Xiao Wan?
Xiao Wan often complained that he was too busy. having just been detoxified, he needed to take good care of his body and accompany him to eat, drink, and look at the scenery more often.
He had taken it to heart. From now on, after finishing his tasks, he would do nothing else but accompany Xiao Wan and play with him.
Thus, a smile that even he didn’t notice hung on Su Jingzhiâs lips.
Tang Tuan suffered another critical hit and couldn’t bear to look.
From beyond the gauze curtains of the council hall, mixed with the sound of cicadas, came the rich voice of the Minister of Rites, Meng Xijiâthe very minister who had been tormented to the brink of collapse by the Emperor during the grand ceremony of assuming governance.
Minister Meng stated his case with clear logic:
“For the sake of the ancestral temple, the state, and the succession of the empire, Your Majesty is implored to hold the Grand Wedding soon to stabilize the foundation of the state and spread the branches and leaves for the Imperial Family of this dynasty.”
“…”
Standing outside the curtain, the Regentâs body went stiff for an instant.
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