In any country, court officials and their relatives are prohibited from making irresponsible remarks about the monarch.
However, Shen Qingfeng spoke with great precision. Looking at Lu Yan neither overbearingly nor humbly, he revealed the true thoughts of the current and previous kings of Lixia back then.
To serve a king is like staying with a tiger. As a subject, should one really be willing to die for the king?
Shen Qingfeng let out a sneer.
Lu Yan paused. Shen Qingfeng was now making irresponsible remarks about his elder brother right in front of him, but Lu Yan himself didn't seem extremely surprised. Perhaps deep down, for a long time, he had already sensed what kind of face was hidden beneath King Xia Jie's ever - smiling visage.
Although what Shen Qingfeng had just said was merely speculation, considering many aspects, his deduction seemed quite reasonable.
Shen Qingfeng squeezed Lu Yan's hand, leaned his head into Lu Yan's neck, rubbed against Lu Yan's suddenly tightened face, and said with a smile, "Why do you look so gloomy?"
Lu Yan didn't say a word but placed his hand on Shen Qingfeng's waist and pulled him closer.
Lu Yan understood what Shen Qingfeng meant. Given their special statuses, King Xia Jie would never have granted them a marriage. That is to say, King Xia Jie's move might very well have other motives.
And this motive was most likely what Shen Qingfeng had speculated: to force them to break off the engagement and then use this as an excuse to pressure both families. Maybe it was to encroach on the prime minister's power of the Shen family, or perhaps it was to take back Lu Yan's military power. In any case, it was a perfect trap.
Was the reason Shen Qingfeng wanted to marry him to turn the tables?
Lu Yan's eyes darkened.
"Do you think I want to marry you just to test King Xia Jie?" Seeing Lu Yan's silence, Shen Qingfeng said with a laugh, "You fool. Your elder brother is too scheming. Everything he thinks and does serves a purpose. Emotions mean nothing to an emperor, but I'm different."
Lu Yan was stunned for a moment and turned to look at him. "What... do you mean?"
Shen Qingfeng let out a long sigh, stretched out his hands, and tightly hugged Lu Yan's arms. "Do you want to know why my attitude towards Xia Chuli and towards you has changed so quickly?"
Lu Yan looked down at him without saying a word.
He really wanted to know because he understood that when one had loved someone for years, that person would become a part of one's very being. How could one let go so easily?
This had already been proven in Lu Yan's case, because Shen Qingfeng was now the bone and flesh of his body, someone he simply couldn't let go or abandon.
But how could Shen Qingfeng explain it to Lu Yan? His feelings for Xia Chuli, from the initial unrequited love, to the later whole - hearted devotion, and then to being hurt all over and in great pain, couldn't be explained in just a few words. Moreover, he was a reborn person. Such a preposterous explanation, Lu Yan wouldn't believe it.
Shen Qingfeng looked up at Lu Yan, but Lu Yan seemed to have lost interest and didn't look back at him. He sat there listlessly like a dejected child, as if waiting for Shen Qingfeng to give the final answer.
"You fool," Shen Qingfeng sighed softly. "Tell the truth from the falsehood yourself."
Then he suddenly threw off the big fur cloak wrapped around them. Straddling Lu Yan's legs under Lu Yan's surprised gaze, he cupped Lu Yan's face with both hands and lowered his head to kiss him.
Lu Yan's eyes widened instantly.
Since Lu Yan was sitting on the ground, leaning straight against a tree, when Shen Qingfeng sat on him like this, their lower bodies were pressed tightly together. At first, Shen Qingfeng didn't notice. He just feared that Lu Yan would misunderstand he was using him to avoid King Xia Jie's plot, so he wanted to comfort him.
— Shen Qingfeng really thought so simply at first. But when his tongue licked across Lu Yan's upper palate, something below him, where it was in close contact with Lu Yan's private parts, suddenly became scorching hot.
Shen Qingfeng's movements froze for a moment. Then, like being scalded by hot water, he suddenly pulled away. Bending his legs, he was about to stand up and run away. Unexpectedly, Lu Yan was faster. He grabbed Shen Qingfeng's waist and threw himself and Shen Qingfeng to the side.
In a split - second, Shen Qingfeng's back hit the dry ground hard. Their positions were instantly reversed. A shadow loomed over him, and his lips and tongue were kissed tightly again.
Shen Qingfeng let out a startled cry. Lu Yan's kiss was wild and intense, and even his panting seemed to be filled with more passion than before.
A sense of impending danger enveloped Shen Qingfeng. As a man, he naturally knew what state Lu Yan was in and what he wanted to do next.
Shen Qingfeng let out a whimper. His whole body was trembling violently. He managed to stammer out a few broken words from the fragmented kisses, "Lu... Yan, don't... I don't want to..."
Lu Yan was aroused. He stretched out his hands, grasped Shen Qingfeng's struggling wrists, and pressed them hard on both sides of his head. He closed his eyes and kissed him intently. The part where their bodies were tightly pressed together was in sharp contrast to the coldness of the ice and snow all around. A sudden cold wind blew, but Shen Qingfeng didn't feel the cold. Instead, he felt extremely hot all over.
Shen Qingfeng was not ignorant of amorous affairs. In his previous life, he loved Xia Chuli and always followed him. When he realized that their relationship only stayed at the level of occasional kisses, he had also thought about using his body to seduce Xia Chuli.
So he covered his face with white gauze, secretly slipped out of Bian Palace, and went to a remote part of the city to buy that wrinkled little picture album.
That picture album was different from the ordinary erotic pictures. Instead, it told how two men made love.
He lit a lamp and opened the album. But when he got to the middle, when the two male mandarin ducks in the picture had finished foreplay, were completely naked, and were about to have sex, Shen Qingfeng blushed so much that he immediately threw the book into the charcoal brazier.
At that time, he clearly knew that he and Xia Chuli might never reach that stage.
Finally, Lu Yan raised his head. His eyes were terrifyingly black as he looked down at the person in his arms.
Shen Qingfeng's cherry - like mouth was slightly open, and his cheeks were flushed. It was not clear whether he was scared or not, but a thin layer of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.
"Don't..." Shen Qingfeng blushed shyly and turned his face to the side.
One shouldn't be too hasty.
Lu Yan swallowed hard. With great willpower, he let go of Shen Qingfeng's hands. Then, as if still not satisfied, he licked his lips, lowered his head again, buried it in Shen Qingfeng's neck, and then reached out to pull open Shen Qingfeng's collar. Biting down on Shen Qingfeng's neck amidst his screams.
Biting and sucking hard, Lu Yan was like a wild animal venting his primitive emotions. Then he lifted his head and looked at the red mark on Shen Qingfeng's neck with satisfaction and dominance.
The wild animal let go and said with a smile, "Shall we go back?"