Shen Qingfeng's kiss was as light as a dragonfly skimming the water. His lips only lingered on Lu Yan's for a moment before quickly pulling away. But how could Lu Yan let him go so easily? Lu Yan reached out his hand, directly cupping the back of Shen Qingfeng's head, and then pressed it back, deepening the kiss.
"Um... mm..."
Lu Yan was very good at kissing.
Shen Qingfeng had already discovered this the first time they kissed. Whether it was out of curiosity or greed, Shen Qingfeng quickly got used to his way of kissing.
The kiss was a passionate one. Lu Yan's kiss was full of aggression, as if he wanted to pry open Shen Qingfeng's teeth and conquer every inch of his mouth.
Lu Yan impatiently rubbed his tongue against Shen Qingfeng's teeth, then raised his head and pressed his nose against Shen Qingfeng's. "Qingfeng, open your mouth."
Lu Yan's voice was deep and hoarse. Shen Qingfeng seemed to be under a spell. He slowly opened his mouth. Immediately, Lu Yan pulled him back into his arms. One hand wrapped around Shen Qingfeng's waist, and the other held the back of his head. In an irresistible manner, he locked Shen Qingfeng tightly in his embrace.
The moment Shen Qingfeng opened his mouth, Lu Yan's dexterous tongue snaked into his mouth. It was hot and passionate, sweeping through every corner of Shen Qingfeng's mouth.
This simple and rough kiss often had an effect that made one's heart race. Shen Qingfeng felt weak all over from the kiss. Soft moans escaped from his lips and teeth, but they were all covered by the ambiguous sounds. Shen Qingfeng's legs went numb, and he seemed to lose all his strength, falling straight down. Lu Yan stretched out a leg and forcefully wedged it between Shen Qingfeng's legs to support him. The hand on the back of his head didn't loosen at all. He seemed to want to bite the man beneath him and swallow him whole. The crazy kiss was addictive and made one go wild. Shen Qingfeng was completely intoxicated by this kind of kiss he had never experienced before. After what seemed like a long time, Lu Yan finally got enough of the kiss and slowly let him go.
The silver thread between their flushed lips snapped. The moment Lu Yan let go of him, Shen Qingfeng slumped directly onto Lu Yan.
Shen Qingfeng gasped for breath with his open lips. Lu Yan looked down at him contentedly, then bent down. He put one hand under Shen Qingfeng's knees and the other around his back, reaching out from under his armpits. He picked Shen Qingfeng up horizontally and walked towards a pine tree on the top of the mountain.
The pine tree was big and dense enough. After a whole - night snowfall, the grass under its shade wasn't covered with snow. Instead, there were some dry spots left. Lu Yan carried Shen Qingfeng to the tree and sat down. Seeing that Shen Qingfeng's face was a bit pale, he took off his own fur coat and wrapped it over Shen Qingfeng's.
Shen Qingfeng grabbed his hand. "No need. I'm not that cold."
Lu Yan said, "It's okay. I feel hot anyway. Just cover yourself with it."
Shen Qingfeng reached out and touched the black fur coat on his body. He lifted a corner, and a warm look flashed in his eyes. He smiled and said, "Are you really not cold?"
Lu Yan was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what he meant. "It seems a bit cold after taking it off."
"Haha." Shen Qingfeng covered his mouth and laughed.
Then Lu Yan leaned closer. He wrapped the two of them together with the black fur coat. He reached out his hand under the coat, grabbed Shen Qingfeng's hand, warmed it up, and then kissed it.
Shen Qingfeng leaned against Lu Yan's shoulder, still looking at the scenery in the distance. His eyes were motionless, as if he wanted to engrave the beautiful view deep in his soul.
"Qingfeng..." Lu Yan kissed the tip of Shen Qingfeng's finger. Suddenly, he put his hand on Shen Qingfeng's shoulder and pressed his forehead against Shen Qingfeng's. He said out of the blue, "Tell me."
Shen Qingfeng trembled all over. "What?"
Lu Yan slowly raised his head. He looked at Shen Qingfeng with a complicated look in his eyes. He reached out his hand and tucked a strand of Shen Qingfeng's hair behind his ear. "Tell me why you came here wearing a bamboo hat."
Shen Qingfeng looked at Lu Yan expressionlessly. His face was still very pale. In this vast expanse of snow, he seemed to be as white as the snow. He just moved his eyes and looked away. He said, "Lu Yan, you should know."
Lu Yan maintained the posture of holding him. "What I know must be less than what you can tell me."
He wanted to know many things. For example, why did Shen Qingfeng rush to his mansion in the snow? Why didn't he want to tell Shen Shiqiu and Shen Yu the truth? Or why didn't he love Xia Chuli anymore?
Lu Yan admitted that this was the moment he had been longing for in his life. But objectively speaking, Shen Qingfeng's performance was really surprising.
Shen Qingfeng was silent for a while, as if he was thinking of an excuse. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked at Lu Yan. He sighed softly and said, "Lu Yan, how much do you think the Shen family and the Lu family can influence the power in the court and the military power?"
Lu Yan replied, "Thanks to the Divination Hall and the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Shen family can basically win over nearly half of the court's political power. And as for me, I control the military power of half of the Northern Kingdom."
Shen Qingfeng nodded and said, "Since you already know this, you should also understand that the Shen family can basically represent most of the civilian - party political power in Lixia, while you represent most of the military - party political power. Do you think the king will really bestow a marriage on our two big families?"
Actually, Lu Yan had suspected this for a long time. Although he knew that King Xia Jie was kind to him and didn't blame him for his father Lu Jiang's rebellion back then. But as a monarch, would King Xia Jie really trust him to such an extent? Let a person who held military power marry into the Shen family, which held the power of the prime minister?
When King Xia Jie said those words in the Mountain - River Hall at the beginning, Lu Yan had been skeptical. But because he really liked Shen Qingfeng and had missed him for so many years, he really couldn't say no. But now, if this marriage alliance was formed, it would pose a serious threat to the royal power of Lixia, that is, to King Xia Jie's rule, and it would be a threat that was not easy to eliminate.
Then why did King Xia Jie still bestow this marriage?
The reason seemed very simple.
"Everyone knows that I like Xia Chuli." Shen Qingfeng looked into the distance and said softly, "They all thought that I was crazy about her, and their assumption was indeed confirmed. Because I made a ruckus in the Mountain - River Hall in the snow."
"King Xia Jie is a sensible person. A sensible monarch will not allow the power to fall into other hands." Shen Qingfeng sighed and said, "If I succeed in rejecting the marriage, it will give him an excuse to punish the Shen family. The Shen family might be severely hit and never recover."
Shen Qingfeng looked at Lu Yan and said, "It's the same for our two families, Lu Yan. Don't forget how difficult it was for you the last time you returned to the Northern Kingdom."
Lu Yan once came to Lige for study when he was a child. In fact, it was just being a hostage. By controlling the son of Marquis Dingbei Lu Jiang in Lige, Lu Jiang didn't dare to act rashly at all.
Unexpectedly, Lu Jiang completely ignored his safety and directly rebelled. After that, Lu Jiang fled to Qimen and was forced to jump into the river and die. King Xia Jie was kind - hearted. He didn't punish the still - young Lu Yan. Instead, he let him go back to inherit the title of Marquis Dingbei and manage the Northern Kingdom well.
Although King Xia Jie seemed to trust Lu Yan very much on the surface, after all, Lu Yan now held most of the military power. How could he not be afraid?
The Lu family had guarded the border for Lixia for decades. But being with a king was like being with a tiger. How could the people in the court easily guess the king's thoughts?