Sunlight seeped through the paper shades and perched on the couple snuggling under their warm quilt. Shen Yuan stirred from the light, and his eyes fluttered open. Instead of waking up, he buried himself further into his husband's arms and tightened the quilt around them.
6 months passed in the blink of an eye and, before he knew it, winter was well in its way. Though rain wouldn't change into snow any time soon, the birds had long migrated into warmer regions.
How he wished he could join them and escape the cold.
"What's wrong?" a low, whispery voice asked from above his head.
"Nothing. I'm just cold." Shen Yuan lifted his head and pecked Ji Zhixuan on his shoulder before resting his head back down. "Did I wake you?"
Ji Zhixuan pulled Shen Yuan closer and wrapped his arms tighter to give all the heat that he could. "I've been awake for a while. The maids are preparing heating pouches for you."
"Mn…"
"Are you allergic to cold? Should I have them make tonics as well?"
"No, it's fine. I just…hate it."
"Can I ask why?"
Shen Yuan didn't mind. "When I was little, I grew up in an orphanage. I have a very weak body, you see. I'm like a porcelain doll that can break at any time. Because of that, the caretakers gave me an extra blanket every winter. The other kids didn't like that and always took them away. I didn't know at first and thought I lost them, so I didn't dare telling about it to the caretakers. I had to sleep inside my wardrobe to keep myself warm."
"Are they still alive?" Ji Zhixuan asked in the gentlest voice, yet his eyes glinted with viciousness. If they were still alive, he would make them experience a hell so cold they would wish they were burned to death.
"Of course not. Who do you think am I?" Shen Yuan scoffed. "After I found out, I stole their blankets and made them think they were doing it to each other until fights broke out every day. They died one by one until the last one…well, let's just say he got into an 'accident'. I left the orphanage after that."
Ji Zhixuan let out a small laugh and kissed the top of Shen Yuan's head. "I would've loved to see that."
"If you were there, I would've just given you all the workload." Shen Yuan chuckled. "Enough about me. Is there any update on the sanctuary?"
"I have received the report that the flowers on Lingshan Isles have started to bud. The sanctuary is confirmed to appear soon."
"Do those flowers bloom regardless of season?"
"Yes. They bloom from the sanctuary's spiritual energy. We also use them to estimate the remaining time we have before it closes and disappears again. Weather or temperature doesn't affect them." Ji Zhixuan rubbed small, circular motions on Shen Yuan's back, hoping the friction would give him extra warmth. "So, how about we head to Lin An ahead of time? It will take a week, but it's significantly warmer there."
"Sounds great." Shen Yuan didn't have any objection. With a stretch, he forced himself to get up and dropped a proper morning kiss on Ji Zhixuan's lips. "The sooner we depart the sooner we arrive. I want to hurry up and wear a cloak too."
Ji Zhixuan nodded in agreement and propped himself up to return the morning kiss with his own before leaving the bed together.
The maids entered with a basin of warm water and 2 clean washing cloths. They washed up behind the screen and when they finished, their clothes were already prepared on their bed.
Although it was the standard for servants to help the masters of the house with their garments, Ji Zhixuan forbade anyone to touch Shen Yuan unless necessary, much less seeing his bare body, and took it upon himself to dress his wife.
Shen Yuan snuggled himself in his fur cloak while Ji Zhixuan combed and did his hair. The hairpin he gifted for him had now taken permanent residence on his head.
"The emperor should already know about the flowers budding as well. Is he planning to go to Lin An soon too?"
"The emperor is too old for long-distance trips and can't leave the palace for a long period of time. He'll only be sending my father and General Zhou." Ji Zhixuan twirled the smooth, ink-blank hair in a firm twist, knowing Shen Yuan didn't like loose binding, and secured the hairpin before tidying the rest of his hair.
"Your father and Zhou Jingchen's?" Shen Yuan looked at Ji Zhixuan through the mirror in askance. "Are they on good terms?"
"As much as oil and water. The emperor doesn't like rivalries between his subjects, so they have to act cordial in front of him. Once they're in the sanctuary, they'll certainly split up and race to find the item the emperor is looking for. Maybe only one will come out alive."
"You don't seem concerned."
Ji Zhixuan kissed a lock of Shen Yuan's hair. "I am officially my own man after marriage. My concern is exclusive for my family."
Shen Yuan pursed a smile and for a second forgot what they were talking about. If he told his past self he would get married in the future, he definitely would ask what crack he was on.
Though this wasn't reality, this experience and his future memory of it would be nothing less than true.
"Your father didn't ask you to aid him?"
"He did, but I refuse. I don't care about his status as the prime minister since I'm not aiming to replace him. I also have my own guard unit, so we don't need the ones working for him."
"And he just let you?"
"Not that he can do anything about it." Ji Zhixuan pushed his glasses up. "I hold many information, resources, and connections he needs for him to keep earning the emperor's favor. He can't force me to do anything."
Shen Yuan could only imagine how livid Prime Minister Ji was for having a son like Ji Zhixuan. There were the perks of having a successful son, but when he surpassed his parents, there was only indignation.
"Why did you choose to do business in the first place? With your strength, you can easily work under the emperor even without waiting for your father to retire to replace him."
"When my mark manifested, my father immediately forced me to train so that he could offer me as a weapon to the emperor. Although I technically could make him fear me with my strength, it could only go so far. I have to find a way to control him with the things he needs, so I decided to start a small business in secret to make connections and gather the necessary capital. When I realized it did very well, I decided to might as well go all the way."
"And now you're the richest second generation in Tian Empire."
"Something like that is not worth a title."
Ji Zhixuan finished styling Shen Yuan's hair and they switched places.
Doing it for another person was easier than doing it for himself, and Shen Yuan had no problem styling Ji Zhixuan's hair after he taught him how.
He first combed down his hair to smoothen and detangle them. "What about Zhou Jingchen? Is he going to support his father?"
"Yes, I've confirmed it."
"He has a catalyst? He's not going to bring one from the civil guards, is he?"
"No. He's supporting his father as himself, not as the commander of the civil guard. He has a fiancée who is a 4-star catalyst though they're rarely together. They're arranged by their parents since childhood, but both parties seem opposed to it. Whether their energy is compatible or not is another question."
Shen Yuan almost forgot there was such a thing as compatibility for activators and catalysts. The higher the compatibility, the faster the energy transfer speed between the two people. Those with perfect compatibility would experience no latency between input and output.
"You never see them synchronizing?"
"Not that I remember. Then again, I don't bother keeping myself updated about him unless necessary." Ji Zhixuan looked up at Shen Yuan through the mirror. "What do you want to do about him?"
"I want to focus on finding the treasure we need first." Shen Yuan finished tying Ji Zhixuan's hair up and hugged him around his neck. "Before we accomplish that, we avoid the crowds. If they're stupid enough to disturb us, then we'll just beat them up."
"Even the surname Zhou?"
"Even the surname Zhou." Shen Yuan nodded. "But don't kill him."
Ji Zhixuan stared at Shen Yuan's reflection and slowly reached up to hook their fingers. "Ah Yuan."
"Hm?"
"Will it be selfish of me to wish for my death to be in the hand that holds mine?"
"…" Shen Yuan held Ji Zhixuan's finger and fell silent in thought.
He was commissioned in the first place because Gao Lang and Yang Mei couldn't simply have the person they sent in to personally kill the vulture. They needed them to make Zhou Yi exterminate it himself.
But what if the vulture willingly left?
It shouldn't be a violent process that would impact Zhou Yi. Like moving a plant with all its roots from the ground to a pot as opposed to cutting it off or forcefully uprooting it.
He wouldn't know if he never tried. If it still ended up causing some damage to Zhou Yi's psyche, he could just make up a reason that he was attacked and there was no other choice or something.
Thinking he troubled Shen Yuan with his request, Ji Zhixuan wanted to take back his words, but Shen Yuan beat him to it.
"Okay. We can try."
Ji Zhixuan widened his eyes, but his surprise soon turned into a frown. "Are you sure? Is it going to be alright?"
"Didn't I tell you? I only do things if I'm at least 90% sure about it." Shen Yuan lowered his head and whispered to Ji Zhixuan's ear with a smile, his voice sinful and alluring. "When that time comes, I'll fulfill all your wishes. I suggest you start fantasizing, dear husband."
Fervent red flickered in Ji Zhixuan's eyes and brought gleeful laughter illuminating the room.