"Lu Yan..." Shen Qingfeng was startled. Before he could react, Lu Yan suddenly turned his body around. Then, Lu Yan forcefully kissed his lips.
This kiss was a bit different. Shen Qingfeng felt his tongue being tightly grasped, and then Lu Yan began to invade and conquer with that soft tongue.
The way of kissing was unexpected. It seemed to be carrying some suppressed emotions, extremely expelling the remaining air in Shen Qingfeng's body. Before long, Shen Qingfeng was a bit out of breath. His legs went weak, and he only didn't fall because of Lu Yan's hand across his waist.
Lu Yan pressed him against the table. With a "crash", he overturned the maps and objects on the full table. Leaning forward, he kissed him deeply.
Shen Qingfeng was a bit short of oxygen. He pushed against Lu Yan's chest, wanting some space to breathe. But it seemed that the more he pushed, the more intense Lu Yan's kiss became, until he was kissed dizzy and muddled.
He didn't know what was wrong with Lu Yan today. Was it because they hadn't done it for a long time? No, they had just done it the day before yesterday.
Finally, Shen Qingfeng summoned up all his strength and pushed Lu Yan away a bit. Then he suddenly turned his head and gasped for air.
The extreme lack of oxygen made him dizzy. The fresh air entering his lungs relieved him, but at the same time, it made his throat dry and painful.
"Cough... cough..." Shen Qingfeng coughed, and his whole body trembled on the table.
Lu Yan paused. He didn't know why, but suddenly he felt this scene was very ironic.
Days of speculation had shaken his once firm heart. The flattering smile of the little eunuch who came in a hurry yesterday and his ambiguous words had made Lu Yan feel like there was a needle stuck in his throat.
Did Xia Chuli really kiss him yesterday?
Did Shen Qingfeng resist?
Was this appearance of his also seen by Xia Chuli?!
At this moment, he extremely regretted killing the little eunuch before he had finished speaking. But more than that, he kept recalling and speculating over and over again.
He didn't want to believe it, but he was haunted by anxiety.
He seemed to be trapped in an infinite loop of self - denial and self - approval, like a shackle that was constantly locked and then unlocked. After countless times of unlocking or locking, the lock core began to age and rust, and the inside of the lock core was corroded. He didn't know whether the final time would stop at unlocking or locking. He seemed to be gambling everything on the last move to unlock this shackle.
Lu Yan leaned down again. This time, he bit Shen Qingfeng's Adam's apple, lingering and turning. Shen Qingfeng trembled all over and whispered with restraint, "Lu Yan... stop..."
"... Why stop?" Lu Yan paused. Holding Shen Qingfeng's Adam's apple in his mouth, he felt a bitter taste in his heart.
What he didn't know was that because of Xia Chuli's forced kiss, Shen Qingfeng was extremely upset at this moment. He didn't want to let Lu Yan down. How could he be overly intimate with Xia Chuli behind Lu Yan's back?
He felt very self - reproachful and sorry. He needed time to sort out his chaotic thoughts. But now, he just needed Lu Yan to hold him tightly. He didn't dare to ask for more.
"I'm very tired. Let's not do it today, okay?" Shen Qingfeng put his arms around Lu Yan's shoulders, lifted his upper body, and trembled as he left a kiss on Lu Yan's lips.
Lu Yan froze all over.
The next moment, Shen Qingfeng stretched out his hand and tightly hugged Lu Yan's neck.
He was like an injured little deer, or a doll who had done something wrong. So flatteringly, he showed his weakest side to the person he loved the most.
It was as if a pot of all kinds of flavors had been suddenly overturned. Lu Yan was in a complex mood. He felt the thin body that was much colder than his own shrinking timidly in his arms, so small and so cold.
Without much thought, almost instinctively, Lu Yan hugged him in turn and then tightly kneaded that person into his arms.
After all, ice will be melted by flames, won't it?
Lu Yan murmured in his heart.
He always believed so.
-
"Is there something wrong in the Northern Kingdom?" In bed, Shen Qingfeng leaned against Lu Yan's shoulder, looking at the border map in Lu Yan's hand, and asked softly.
Lu Yan nodded and said, "The Donghu tribe has assembled its troops and stationed them under Liangcheng, directly threatening the Qimen border. I've already sent my subordinates to reinforce Qimen. At the morning court today, the king also approved the plan for the reinforcements and started to allocate food and supplies from Lige."
In the previous life, when the Donghu tribe started to attack southward, it was in the early spring of March. The Donghu cavalry rushed into Liangcheng and massacred nearly a thousand people in the city. Lu Yan's subordinates, Qi Qi and Wei Yan, led the remaining troops and the common people to flee from Liangcheng and waited for Lu Yan's rescue.
Shen Qingfeng frowned and thought. If this life was the same as the previous one, then Lu Yan would have to rush back to the Northern Kingdom after marrying him.
But Xia Chuli's regime was still unstable at this time. He himself couldn't leave Lige City. That meant the time he could still be with Lu Yan was only about a month.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingfeng couldn't help but hold Lu Yan's hand and interlock their fingers.
"Do your subordinates have a chance of winning?" Shen Qingfeng asked.
Lu Yan nodded and said, "Xiao Qi... Although Qi Qi is inexperienced in leading troops, with Wei Yan's help, with the solid defense of Liangcheng, it's no problem to resist the Donghu tribe for a month. The Donghu tribe has come from a long way. It's very difficult to solve the food and supply problems for their 200,000 - strong army. As long as they can hold on, they have a chance of winning."
Lu Yan's combat strategy was correct. After all, Lu Yan had been on the battlefield for many years and was already an expert in leading troops. He knew better than Shen Qingfeng how to achieve the greatest results with the least casualties and how to win battles.
However, although Lu Yan was a famous general, he didn't have the ability to predict the future. He didn't know at the beginning that the city guard of Liangcheng had been bought off by the Donghu tribe, nor could he have guessed that the drawbridge over the moat would be cut off by a Qimen soldier in order to protect his wife and children. The drawbridge fell with a roar, giving the elite Donghu soldiers a chance to massacre thousands of common people except for the soldier's family of three.
"The obvious spear is easy to dodge, but the hidden arrow is hard to guard against." Shen Qingfeng said in a deep voice, "The Donghu tribe has made full preparations this time. Presumably, besides the frontal attack, they have also prepared some other underhanded means."
Lu Yan nodded and said, "I've already asked Xiao Qi and Wei Yan to re - screen the military personnel in the city to prevent any Donghu spies from sneaking in. However, Qimen has just ended its internal turmoil, and the common people are unstable. Most of the soldiers who joined the army are shrinking back. I've asked Qi Qi to negotiate with the city guard to temporarily hand over all the important positions to the Lu family army."
"We also need to investigate the city guard himself." Shen Qingfeng emphasized.
Lu Yan nodded and said, "You're right. I've also required that everyone needs to be screened. But Qingfeng, do you know? Many things are perfectly planned on our side, but there are many obstacles when it comes to actual implementation."