"…and so, after Elder Imperial Brother Shui ran away to join one of your cultivator sects, betraying the hopes of his family and nation, Imperial Father chose to elevate my position to that of a prince of the first rank. I have dutifully labored to fulfill all expectations since then, striving for the betterment of the people of the Xing Long Empire," Jing Hao continued to monologue self-righteously as he led Qinghe down the palace's corridors. Somewhere along the way, he seemed to have forgotten that he was supposed to be giving his guest a tour.
Qinghe maintained his polite smile throughout as he followed along.
After a talking a bit more along these lines, Jing Hao finally paused and looked at Qinghe as if waiting to hear his opinion on his tedious tirade.
Qinghe sighed on the inside, but outwardly, he spoke in an approving tone, "Well, this is the best outcome, isn't it? My friend gets his freedom and the nation gets an admirable and hardworking person such as Your Highness for their first prince."
Hearing this simplistic statement, Jing Hao peered at Qinghe with a keenly assessing gaze. He had been trying to gauge this cultivator's intelligence and understanding of current political matters to see if he was a threat. But by his answer, he clearly didn't know much. Though Jing Hao couldn't completely put his guard down, he still dismissed this pleasant-faced cultivator as a potential risk.
So with an amiable expression, Jing Hao continued to lead Qinghe forward. "Yes, of course, you are absolutely right."
Facing Jing Hao's back, Qinghe's lips curled in an imperceptible sneer. Just how stupid did this person think he was? This prince hadn't even tried to hide that he was probing him. Was this all he had planned? How utterly disappointing…
Just as Qinghe was contemplating heading back to his room and diving right into his beloved's arms again before putting this matter behind him, he heard the sounds of lively chatter coming from beyond the next bend in their path.
Jing Hao's eyes showed an expectant look as if he was looking forward to some sort of show. If Qinghe wasn't adept at reading faces, he would have missed the subtle fluctuation in Jing Hao's expression.
Just as he was wondering what Jing Hao had in store for him, Qinghe heard the unmistakable voice of his lover coming from the group chattering around the corner. Wei Xiang's low and smooth voice clearly stood out from within the crowd of high-pitched voices giggling coquettishly.
Narrowing his eyes, Qinghe was about to walk faster to see what Wei Xiang was doing when Jing Hao looked at him with apparent pity and whispered, "It seems that your lover has company. Why don't we just take a little peek first to see what's happening? I'm sure your lover has his reasons. Let's not jump to any conclusions."
"…"
Could his misleading be any more obvious in this situation? Jing Hao was deliberately acting as if he was trying to spare Qinghe's feelings by seemingly hiding the fact that his lover was cheating or something!
Qinghe felt endlessly irked that his intelligence was being looked down upon to this degree, but since this was the result of his deliberate manipulation, he could only bear with it for now.
For the record, Qinghe absolutely did not doubt Wei Xiang's fidelity. He remembered that before he had left their room, he'd asked his beloved to play along with their little ploys, which was obviously why Wei Xiang was here.
After walking a few more steps, they finally reached the corner. Jing Hao carefully peeked around, slight glee in his eyes. Yes, everything was going as he had planned.
Curious to see just what sort of a situation his lover had gotten himself into, Qinghe used a mirror to look around the corner so that he didn't have to peek from beside Jing Hao and risk being touched.
The scene reflected on the mirror, however, made Qinghe frown with discontent.
Past the corner, the corridor opened up. On one side ran a low parapet wall intercepted with thick pillars set into it. These pillars in turn supported wide and expansive arches that curved overhead. On the other side of the arches was a neatly trimmed open garden with evenly spaced rows of delicate blooms.
Wei Xiang was seated on the parapet wall, his back relaxed against a pillar and his long legs stretched out in front of him. Crowded around him were a number of lords and ladies, each and every one of them looking young and fresh with beautiful faces, gorgeous clothes, and bright expressions.
Wei Xiang looked at the youngsters surrounding him with a slight smile, just a corner of his lips tilting upward. His eyes glittered with a sharp light as the people surrounding him kept trying to vie for his attention. But only Qinghe seemed to realize that Wei Xiang's current expression did not, in fact, denote a pleasant mood. It was more like a mixture of amusement and mockery.
But not knowing this, one of the young ladies shyly walked closer as if encouraged by that smile and clutched delicately onto Wei Xiang's arm. In a sweet voice, she spoke, "Lord Wei, you've come to the capital before, haven't you? My aunt's cousin talks of you very fondly."
Then boldly leaning closer, the girl continued in a whisper, "She says that the one night she spent with you was the best night of her life. When she heard that you were in the palace, she wanted me to ask you if you could visit her again sometime."
Of course, the girl's 'whisper' was loud enough to be heard even by the mortal Jing Hao despite him standing so far away, so how could Qinghe miss it? But his reaction to those words was to just wait and watch. By now, Qinghe was sure that Wei Xiang must have already sensed his presence. He wanted to see how his lover would extricate himself from this situation.
But even though he looked outwardly calm, Qinghe would be lying if he said he wasn't displeased by the looks those young socialites were directing at his beloved after they heard the girl's statement. They assessed Wei Xiang with intrusive gazes as if they were undressing him in their mind. Several already had flushed faces, their eyes locking on Wei Xiang's body with unhidden eagerness.
Discontentment and irritation sparked in Qinghe's gaze. Though his rational mind tried to persuade him that as long as they didn't act on their desires, it shouldn't matter, he still hated anyone looking at his Xiang in that way. With difficulty, he suppressed the sudden surge of violence that had begun to boil in his heart.
Sensing Qinghe's worsening mood, Jing Hao showed a small, self-satisfied smile. Yes, as he had expected, splitting them apart would be easy. And then he could present this cultivator to Jing Rui to keep that troublesome half-brother of his occupied for a while.
But despite his obvious displeasure, Qinghe still didn't storm up to the lively group in a fit of fury as expected. He was patiently waiting to see how his lover would react.
And sure enough, Wei Xiang did not disappoint.
Flinging away the arm that was clinging onto him, Wei Xiang couldn't hold back his sneer. They dared try to play him after bringing his beloved out to watch? These people sure had guts!
Curbing his anger, he gritted out, "That was decades ago. I now have a wonderful lover I cherish very much, so be careful of what you say or imply. I will not have you sowing discord between us."
Understanding that she had ended up infuriating him, the girl showed a scared expression. "Please, forgive me! I-I wasn't trying to offend you, Lord Wei!"
At the side, a young man showed a mocking expression towards the girl as he moved closer to Wei Xiang. Since this Lord Wei had rejected the girl's suggestion outright, the young man wanted to give it a try next.
Batting his thick, long lashes, the young man blinked his limpid eyes and spoke, his voice soft and soothing, "My lord, there is no need to mind something said in a moment of thoughtlessness. I'm sure that your lover isn't such a narrow-minded person that he would misunderstand those words. But if he is…" The young man lowered his head coyly as a lovely blush colored his cheeks. "If your lover really is that sort of a person, then it can only mean that he doesn't place his trust in you as you rightfully deserve. In that case…I am willing to show you my trust by putting myself in your care, both heart and body."
"…"
Qinghe was speechless. This…was way too forward! Would people generally even fall for this kind of bullcrap?! This young man's intentions were so obvious that Qinghe thought it was even a little funny.
Wei Xiang, on the other hand, was unamused, his eyes hardening in anger. He had tried to be courteous till now, but that hardly meant that he would sit down and take it when his beloved was being spoken ill of like this. Since polite words obviously didn't work on this group, he would simply have to speak his mind.
In an almost casual tone that hid derision, Wei Xiang spoke with his usual level of comportment, "It seems I have not made myself clear enough. I should have directly asked you annoying pests to stop bothering me, constantly buzzing around like flies on shit. What if my beloved sees me surrounded by such revolting pieces of garbage? Wouldn't he be too disgusted to even come near?"
And just in case they hadn't gotten his message clearly enough, Wei Xiang enunciated each word crisply as he continued, "I'm done playing now, so get lost."
Hearing his scathing tone, it was obvious that he had lost all patience and signs of civility.
Some of the young lords and ladies paled at the harsh words, a few flushing in shame while others sputtered in outrage. They had never before been faced with such directly rude words and were left utterly unable to respond.
But they still had to grit their teeth and thicken their faces to keep staying here, because it was imperative that they gained this Lord Wei's favor!
As for the reason, it all started a few days ago.
The palace was riddled with countless spies, most of who had recently been instructed to watch the newly arrived cultivators to see if these guests could be of some use to their masters' personal schemes. And the spies had reported back that among the cultivators accompanying Prince Jing Shui, the one clad in black had the bearing of someone from a noble lineage.
Speculations and calculations running rampant, the aristocrats hurried to check Wei Xiang's background to see if he really had any noble blood. And during the investigations, though the fact that Wei Xiang was a Sentinel remained a secret, the aristocrats somehow managed to figure out from bits and pieces that Wei Xiang was in fact a very old and powerful cultivator who had deep influence in both the cultivation and mortal worlds.
After confirming this, the aristocrats' first response was to naturally send their children to the palace and try their luck to see if they could woo such a powerhouse to their side through whatever means, be it promises or seduction.
Of course Jing Hao ended up hearing of this, so he orchestrated a scenario where not only did these children of nobility get their chance at Wei Xiang, but Qinghe would also be able to witness his beloved surrounded by those people while being openly seduced, which would hopefully lead to a misunderstanding.
And that was how this current scene came to be.
From what their families had told them about Wei Xiang, these young lords and ladies had all expected a refined, dignified, and a somewhat heroic person. Wasn't that how the powerful cultivators in stories were supposed to be?
Yet they got this fiend who could toss out insults so easily. The youngsters could only cry about this injustice within their hearts.
But no matter how his personality turned out to be, the important thing was that they had to gain his favor somehow, because the power he wielded was that important to their families!
So though a few sensible ones swiftly retreated, most of the youngsters stayed to try and make Wei Xiang interested in them. Some of them even delicately burst into tears, looking pitiful and wronged. If they could manage to rouse this Lord Wei's protective instincts towards them, then they could somehow work through that and gain his regard before slowly melting his heart.
But seeing their crocodile tears, Wei Xiang only felt irritated and impatient. He did not see any reason to hold himself back as he spat, "I don't have time right now for the dramatic slices of stinking bullshit you're trying to heap on my plate. So can't you idiots please just call over your nannies to mop up your tears and snot? It's honestly too sickening to watch and I have no interest in pandering to a group of shameless thigh-huggers. Go bother someone else with your bogus sniveling."
Sudden silence reigned around Wei Xiang, but he hardly cared.
Qinghe, on the other hand, was very gratified by this. He almost felt like laughing when he saw Jing Hao's reaction. Jing Hao seemed so shocked by the lethality of Wei Xiang's venomous tongue that he couldn't even react. He just stared dumbly at this scene with an uncomprehending look on his face.
Yes, Qinghe was very satisfied with how everything turned out.
On the other side, feeling that he had suffered enough, Wei Xiang directly turned his head towards the direction from where he sensed his little lover's presence and called wryly, "Have you had enough fun at my expense yet?"
Qinghe walked around the corner and made for his beloved while smiling. "Yes, thank you for performing such an entertaining play on my behalf. It seems that the potency of your poisonous tongue is especially high today, but don't worry, I'll enjoy sucking on it anyway."
Wei Xiang shook his head bemusedly while the surrounding lords and ladies all gaped.
Not only was this person so unafraid of being improper, but his beauty was also absolutely heaven-defying! Everything about him, from the graceful way he walked to the pleasant way he spoke, was exquisite. They finally felt like they understood just how useless it had been to try and snatch away such a person's lover. Who would be willing to leave someone like this?
Uncaring of the gaping expressions of the young nobles, Qinghe straightforwardly dived into his lover's embrace as he had wanted to before. Ah, so warm and comfy! This had to be the biggest advantage of Wei Xiang not having to wear his stiff uniform. It was so much more convenient to burrow into his arms now without fear of being poked or scratched by the golden embroidery on his uniform, the Sentinel equipment, or his myriad hidden weapons.
Wei Xiang happily received his eager little lover, automatically locking his arms around Qinghe's waist.
Seeing that the situation was completely disadvantageous to them now, the lords and ladies all had to regretfully leave. After all, with such a person by his side, there was no way Lord Wei would look at them now. And truthfully speaking, having such harsh words flung on them one after another, they also did not wish to stay anymore.
Meanwhile, Qinghe had already leaned up and pressed his lips to Wei Xiang's. Qinghe felt strangely restless, and only after doing this did he feel his disquiet settling down again.
Wei Xiang gladly opened his mouth and welcomed Qinghe's tongue inside before meeting it with his own. His little lover seemed particularly impatient today, but Wei Xiang could more or less guess the reason.
Qinghe hungrily wrapped himself around his lover. He wished they were back at their room so that they could remove these annoying clothes that separated them. He wanted them to be pressed as close together as possible, skin against skin, so that he could sate his craving for his beloved.
But before his need could rise too much, Wei Xiang wisely disengaged. Qinghe gasped for breath as he reluctantly leaned back.
"Let's return to our room," Wei Xiang told him.
Sighing, Qinghe nodded.
The disheartened and stupefied Jing Hao was completely discarded by Qinghe in favor of his lover's company as the couple began making their way towards the residential courtyards.
On the way back, Qinghe tightly clutched his lover's hand, his expression showing mild discontent as he pondered upon the scene earlier. Just thinking about someone trying to take Wei Xiang away from him made him mad! How dare they look at his man with covetous eyes!
By the time they made it inside their room, Qinghe had puffed up his cheeks while pouting unhappily.
Unable to bear his lover's cute way of showing his jealousy, Wei Xiang reached out and lightly pinched a fair cheek.
Qinghe immediately took ahold of one of those impudent fingers and bent it backwards as he warned, "Don't you dare, or I'll dislocate it!"
Wei Xiang was both amused and unconcerned. In a tone that almost sounded indulgent, he said, "Oh? We're resorting to violence now, are we? But if you really want to, you can break any bone in my body, or even all of them."
Then leaning closer, he looked into his little lover's eyes and smirked while asking playfully, "But can you bear to do that to me?"
Qinghe turned his face away and huffed before letting go. Of course he couldn't hurt his Xiang!
But when Qinghe looked down, he saw that the finger he'd grabbed and bent back looked slightly red at its base and knuckle. It seemed that he'd unknowingly used a little too much force.
With an expression of guilt and remorse, Qinghe reached out and took the injured finger in his hand, studying it carefully. Then bending his head, he placed a gentle kiss on the reddened knuckle.
Looking up through his lashes, Qinghe apologized to his lover in a remorseful voice, "I'm sorry. Does it hurt?"
Wei Xiang shook his head and smiled softly as he asked in return, "Are you angry at me?"
Qinghe's expression immediately turned thunderous. "No! I'm angry at those bastards for having such good taste! So what if you're amazing, how does that give them the right to drool over you?! They better have enough common sense to keep their stupid eyes off of you! Because you're mine!"
At first, Wei Xiang was shocked at his little lover's uncharacteristically vehement tone, then he grew conflicted. With a deep gaze, he looked at Qinghe and spoke wryly, "Love, are you trying to seduce me? Because it's working. Even I can take only so much of being complimented by my beloved before I start to blush."
Qinghe looked up with a confused frown at his decidedly unblushing lover. "What makes you think I was complimenting you? I was being angry at those flies that kept buzzing around you!"
Wei Xiang chuckled helplessly at Qinghe's indignant tone. His lover was really too adorable when he was jealous.
As his ire mounted, Qinghe continued, "How dare they look at you like that! And they even tried to―"
Suddenly, Wei Xiang bent down and enveloped Qinghe in a tight hug. Nuzzling his lovely little lover affectionately, Wei Xiang said, "I know. You were jealous even though we both know that you have no reason to be."
Qinghe stiffened. "I was…jealous?"
"Yup," Wei Xiang cheerfully replied.
Blinking in befuddlement, Qinghe managed to say, "…Huh."
Wei Xiang chuffed in laughter. "Is it that surprising?"
"…Maybe?" Qinghe replied hesitantly. "I just didn't expect that I'd ever have such an unreasonable yet completely normal reaction to something. I'm sorry, I realize that I was being irrational."
Seeing his beloved trying so hard to be logical in the face of jealousy, Wei Xiang felt a burst of affection. It was just like his Qinghe to carefully think about even something like this.
In a patient tone, Wei Xiang spoke, "You don't have to apologize or feel bad. I've felt jealous a lot of times too. It's not that big of a deal unless we make it into one. As long as we behave sensibly and not let our emotions run wild, it's nothing to be bothered about."
Qinghe buried his face into Wei Xiang's chest and nodded. His lover was so kind and dependable that it really made Qinghe want to eat him up thoroughly. His Wei Xiang was really worth being jealous over.
"…Xiang," Qinghe called out in a low voice.
Wei Xiang asked, "What is it, love?"
Looking up, Qinghe smiled slowly as he spoke, "It's already night outside. Don't you think it's time for us to enjoy some nighttime activities?"
Hearing such a tempting invitation, how could Wei Xiang resist?
And so, the poor, unfortunate Jing Shui had to put up another sound barrier in his and Wu Xiao's room that night. He couldn't help but feel that his neighbors were really too noisy and troublesome! He was never going to stay in a room adjacent to this couple ever again!