Chapter 26: The Wise Jinshi x The Obsessed Emperor 05

Yun Mansion, Lin Feng Yuan (Wind-Blowing Courtyard).

Qin Jingchuan pulled the covers off Yun Huai, squeezing onto the bed with him, sharing a single blanket.  His large hand unceremoniously wrapped around Yun Huai’s waist.

Yun Huai pushed him away in annoyance, but the Emperor grabbed his wrist and licked his fingers.

Yun Huai was startled.  He tried to pull his hand back, but Qin Jingchuan held it tightly, refusing to let go.

“Can you be a little more rational…”

Qin Jingchuan’s dark, deep eyes fixed on him, sending a chill down Yun Huai’s spine.

“Ah Huai, I won’t stop you from pursuing your ambitions, but you must have me by your side.”

“You cannot refuse the love of an Emperor.”

Before Yun Huai could speak, Qin Jingchuan pulled him into his arms and pressed him onto the bed, kissing his red lips.

“Ugh!  Ugh, ugh…”

You bastard, let me go!

Qin Jingchuan’s large hand with its distinct knuckles held him captive, preventing Yun Huai from dodging the scorching kiss.

“Ah Huai, don’t reject me.”

Yun Huai pushed the man with his other hand, but the Emperor grabbed his wrist and pressed it against his head, his grip strong, as if he was nailing him there.

“Don’t be naughty.”  Qin Jingchuan punished him by lightly biting his lips, greedily inhaling the air around his beloved.

Yun Huai retreated in anger and frustration, but Qin Jingchuan quickly pulled him back for another kiss.  He was so angry that he slapped the suddenly-struck Emperor, but the Emperor kissed his snow-white hand in response.

Qin Jingchuan suppressed his desires, his voice deep and slow.  “Ah Huai, I’ll listen to you outside the bed, but in bed, you’ll listen to me.”

Yun Huai pursed his red lips and said coldly, “Your Majesty, I have never agreed to marry you.  Please don’t talk nonsense.”

Qin Jingchuan lowered his eyelids, his calloused fingers tracing the heart-stopping face.

“Under Heaven, all is the Emperor’s land.”

“Within the Emperor’s domain, all are the Emperor’s subjects.”

He chuckled lightly.  “Ah Huai, my affection is something you cannot refuse.”

Yun Huai stared at Qin Jingchuan with a blank expression, starting to question his own charm.

He had been perfectly normal in the No-CP Department, but since coming to the Romance Department, he had been attracting suitors left and right.  It was quite embarrassing.

Was this a rule of the Romance Department?  Even workaholics had to experience love before leaving?

But he had already had a relationship in the last world, and he had stayed with that person until the end.

Why was another man trying to date him in this world!

Dear heavens, are you blind?

Or had the Matchmaker gone blind again?  But the Matchmaker could only connect the red threads of mortals, not the red threads of celestial beings like him.

He carefully recalled the Romance Department missioners he had encountered.  They didn’t seem to fall in love with the people in every mission world.  They were all perfectly normal!  But why was it different for him?

He didn’t really need love.

Qin Jingchuan held Yun Huai’s wrist.  Beneath his handsome features was the undeniable imperial authority, but he had softened his demeanor, looking at the silent Yun Huai with a gentle expression.

“Ah Huai, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He had never coaxed anyone before, and his attempt now was quite clumsy.

“If you marry me, no one will bully you anymore, and no one will ruin your future.”

“You’ll have the Emperor behind you.  No one will dare scheme against you or hurt you under my nose.  And you can pursue your ambitions freely.”

He said persuasively, “You love to read.  The palace has countless books.  You can go in and out as you please…”

Yun Huai snapped out of his daze and listened quietly, a new plan forming in his mind.

He said, “Your Majesty, you might be willing to indulge me because you’re fond of me, allowing me to enter and leave the palace at will, and to go directly to the court.  But who’s to say that you won’t clip my wings in the future, trapping me within the palace walls, away from the Yun Mansion?”

“In the Yun Mansion, I still have a way out.  But the palace won’t allow me to act recklessly.”

He couldn’t waste his life in a dark palace just because of some so-called love.  And he couldn’t become a pampered male consort who depended on others.

Qin Jingchuan smiled warmly.  “Ah Huai, I want more than just your person.  I want your heart.  To keep someone but not their heart is useless.  The only one to blame is myself.”

He patted Yun Huai’s back.  “Don’t be afraid.  I won’t let you become a caged bird.  My Empress should be the most proud crane in the world.”

Yun Huai looked at Qin Jingchuan, a hint of surprise in his eyes.  “I’m just an ordinary, weak scholar in the capital.  Why would Your Majesty have such high hopes for me?”

Considering their current identities and positions, this Emperor, who held absolute power, had such high hopes for him, a new scholar with an uncertain future.  It was as if a filter had been placed over his vision.

Qin Jingchuan lovingly stroked Yun Huai’s brow, his voice gentle.  “Ah Huai deserves it.  You are more precious to me than a thousand miles of rivers and mountains.  I want to spoil you even more, to make you even more pampered.”

His little Empress was talented and ambitious.  Such a good person deserved his utmost care.  A thousand miles of rivers and mountains were nothing compared to the person before him.

Yun Huai shook his wrist, but he couldn’t shake him off.  Qin Jingchuan held him in his arms, like a butterfly trapped in a spiderweb.

He conceded.  “Your Majesty, I don’t quite understand your affection, but I will try to understand your love for me.”

After all, since he couldn’t resist this clingy love that was like chewing gum, he might as well accept it.  He needed to fulfill the original character’s wish, and he couldn’t just kill the current Emperor.

Of course, the main reason he conceded was that he felt a familiar feeling from the Emperor, a feeling that made him trust Qin Jingchuan.

It was as if this person would rather die than hurt him in any way.

This intuition from the depths of his soul made him choose to compromise for now, thinking that he would figure out a way to escape later.  He would take things one step at a time.

Qin Jingchuan chuckled.  “That’s enough.”

He would slowly teach Ah Huai what love was and make him fall in love with him.

“I’ve already drafted the decree to make you Empress.  I’ll have Zhou Dehai come to the Yun Mansion to announce it in two days.”

Yun Huai suddenly grabbed Qin Jingchuan’s sleeve and softened his voice.  “I have one request, Your Majesty.  I want to enter officialdom through my own talents and hard work.  I hope Your Majesty won’t interfere with the palace exams.”

“Otherwise, it would be unfair to the scholars who have studied diligently for ten years.”

Qin Jingchuan nodded slightly.  “Alright.  I believe Ah Huai will definitely pass the exams.”

Yun Huai continued to probe.  “Then can Your Majesty please not issue the decree to make me Empress yet?  Otherwise, wouldn’t it damage Your Majesty’s reputation?”

“People will say that Your Majesty is showing favoritism.  It wouldn’t be good for me or Your Majesty.”

Qin Jingchuan looked deeply at Yun Huai, guessing that he wanted to avoid the situation.

Ah Huai had agreed on the surface, but he still didn’t want to marry him, so he was trying to delay things.

He held Yun Huai tightly in his arms, like a fierce dog marking its territory.

“I can agree to that, but you have to move into the palace and cultivate our relationship with me.”

Since Yun Huai didn’t have feelings for him, he would bring him closer and spend more time with him.  Over time, they would develop some feelings for each other.

Yun Huai looked troubled.  “Your Majesty, how can I, an outsider, live in the palace?”

Qin Jingchuan’s grip wasn’t gentle as he pulled Yun Huai’s wrist, bringing him closer.  “Ah Huai, you’re not an outsider to me.  The palace will be your home.  You’ll eventually have to move in.”

Yun Huai:  I don’t really want to live there.

Qin Jingchuan’s eyes darkened.  “I won’t let my future Empress live in such a dilapidated place.  Even my side chambers are better than this.”

He didn’t know what the people at the Yun Mansion were thinking, letting his Ah Huai live in such a place.  It was as rundown as an abandoned firewood shed.

Yun Huai shrugged.  “Whatever Your Majesty says.  I can’t refuse anyway.”

You jerk!  Why are you so fierce?

Qin Jingchuan stared at Yun Huai’s face.  His lively appearance was like a splash of red on a blank sheet of paper, making him want to hold him tightly.

“Ah Huai, no matter what you want to do in the future, I will protect you.  But you have to take care of yourself, too.  Don’t make me worry.”