After the Alluring Beauty Was Forced into a Political Marriage - Chapter 34

Until the moment Lu Jingce departed, Shen Lianzhi did not speak another word to Shiqin Bari.

Every night, the two fell asleep back to back in total silence. Yet, whenever Lianzhi woke, he would find the youth’s arms wrapped around his waist. In the unconscious drift of sleep, Shiqin Bari would invariably press himself against him.

Lianzhi’s hand would hesitate, but in the end, he never pushed Shiqin Bari’s arm away. He simply let him hold him. With his eyes half-closed, Lianzhi felt a dull, aching pang in his chest that he could not quite explain.

What Shiqin Bari had done was indeed excessive, and while Lianzhi was angry, he did not truly hate him. After all, deep down, Shen Lianzhi felt the weight of his own guilt.

Those arms held him far too tightly. With Shiqin Bari’s large frame pressing against him, Lianzhi often felt as though he could barely breathe. He felt trapped again, wrapped in a thick, dark cocoon of silk where he could neither advance nor retreat. He knew he could not remain indecisive forever.

But before he could find clarity, the time came for Lu Jingce to leave.

When the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies had previously escorted Shen Lianzhi for the political marriage, Shiqin Bari had driven him away before the wedding feast was even finished. With Lu Jingce, however, he had kept him for quite some time, wanting him to see with his own eyes how deeply the Chanyu and his Khatun were “in love.”

Now, it was finally time for Lu Jingce to return to the Great Zhou.

The trouble was that Shiqin Bari had overplayed his hand. He had caused Shen Lianzhi to resent him, leading to days of cold silence. No matter how many times Shiqin Bari tried to show kindness, Lianzhi remained indifferent, which left the young King fuming.

“Have you had enough yet!” Shiqin Bari slammed his palm onto the table beside Shen Lianzhi. He leaned over him, forcing Lianzhi to tilt his head back.

Shen Lianzhi let out a weary sigh. “And you? What are you making a fuss about now?”

“Me? Making a fuss?” Shiqin Bari was so angry he could barely catch his breath. “I was only making him back off! And for that, you actually slapped me because of him!”

He sounded a bit aggrieved. “I had no idea your hand was so strong!”

Lianzhi turned his face away, that invisible feeling of suffocation wrapping around him again. “I told you, I told you, there is nothing but purity between us. He is my cousin, and he can only be my cousin. How many more times do I have to say it!”

He practically shouted that last sentence at Shiqin Bari, leaving the youth stunned. Lianzhi looked away, raising a hand to wipe a tear before Shiqin Bari could see it.

After a long silence, Shiqin Bari finally spoke. He watched Shen Lianzhi’s pale, beautiful profile. “I understand. Today, come with me to Mount Yuduquin to see him off, alright?”

Lianzhi was stunned by the offer. He looked up at him. “Truly?”

“Truly,” Shiqin Bari replied with a firm nod.

The eyes that had been dull just a moment ago suddenly sparked with light. This irrepressible joy was caught entirely by Shiqin Bari. He lowered his eyelids, hiding the darkening depth of his gaze.

Lianzhi, unaware, felt a surge of guilt so sharp it stung his heart. He leaned in and left a soft kiss on the youth’s cheek. “Does it still hurt?” he asked.

Shiqin Bari let out a soft hmph.

Lianzhi took his hand and whispered, “I will not do it again. Never again. Just, you have to trust me, alright?”

“How would I dare not trust you?” Shiqin Bari replied.

Lianzhi gave a faint smile and turned to leave, but Shiqin Bari grabbed his wrist. His grip was so tight it felt as though he might crush the bone. Lianzhi looked back, startled by the terrifying intensity in the youth’s eyes.

“I trust you,” Shiqin Bari said. “But you must not lie to me.”

“How could I lie to you?” Lianzhi’s heart skipped a beat.

“You are my Khatun. You must stay by my side forever. You cannot leave.” Shiqin Bari stared at him for a long moment before abruptly letting go. “If the day ever comes that you betray me,” he stopped.

He did not finish the sentence, but a cold sweat broke out across Lianzhi’s back.

“Go on. Go see your cousin off.”

Lianzhi mounted the white horse Shiqin Bari had gifted him, Subuda.

The horse had shed its former wildness and was incredibly well-behaved under Lianzhi. When he rubbed its ears, it did not shy away, merely snorting softly and flicking its tail.

As they rode, the wind blew the hair back from Lianzhi’s face. He swung the riding crop with a new, effortless grace. The timid, cowering person he once was seemed to have vanished.

They escorted the Zhou envoy group to the base of Mount Yuduquin. Lianzhi dismounted and looked toward Lu Jingce from a distance. A pang like a needle piercing his heart struck him. Before he knew it, he had already taken several steps forward.

He was surprised that Shiqin Bari did not stop him. He turned his head back to see Shiqin Bari watching him with a heavy gaze. “Go,” the King said. “But come back quickly.”

Lianzhi stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say, before walking toward Lu Jingce under Shiqin Bari’s unblinking watch.

“Lianzhi.” Lu Jingce smiled at him, looking as elegant and refined as ever. His gaze was as gentle as water, showing no hint of the resentment or disappointment of the past few days. He was as tender as he had always been.

“You have come to the grasslands and learned to ride,” Lu Jingce noted. “You learn much faster than you used to.”

Lianzhi was almost afraid to look at him. He remembered Lu Jingce once telling him he was not allowed to ride unless he was the one teaching him. “Cousin, I,” he began.

“Lianzhi,” Lu Jingce interrupted softly. “It is no matter. I only wish for your happiness.”

Tears instantly filled Lianzhi’s eyes. He looked up, trying to keep them from falling, but the droplets escaped anyway. He wanted to speak, but his throat was so tight that no words would come.

Lu Jingce looked at him, his gaze lingering on the fair, delicate skin of his neck. His eyes, half-hidden by his lashes, seemed full of affection, but only Lu Jingce knew what he was truly hiding.

In his mind, that white neck kept shifting. He saw Lianzhi riding the horse just now, and then he saw the image from days ago, Shiqin Bari holding him as they rode together. It was a sight that stung him to his core.

Lu Jingce placed a warm hand on the top of Lianzhi’s head, causing him to look up. He leaned down to wipe away the tears and pulled him into a hug, patting his back like an elder brother.

But Lianzhi’s eyes suddenly widened. Under the cover of his wide sleeves, Lu Jingce slipped something into Lianzhi’s own sleeve. His cousin’s voice whispered in his ear, as light as a breeze.

“Seven days from now, at the hour of the Pig. Right here.”

“Is he gone?” Shiqin Bari asked.

“Replying to the Great King, yes. I personally witnessed the Zhou envoy group heading toward Yanmen Pass,” Xurigan replied.

Shiqin Bari’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but he still felt an uneasy restlessness. His right eyelid would not stop twitching. He could not help but think back to that embrace between Lu Jingce and Shen Lianzhi.

That day, after Lu Jingce left, Shiqin Bari had immediately pulled Lianzhi to his side. The tears on Lianzhi’s face had been wiped clean, but his eyes remained dull.

“What did you talk about?”

Lianzhi’s body stiffened for a split second. Though he relaxed almost immediately, Shiqin Bari caught that fleeting moment of tension. “Just some private words between brothers. What else could it be? You are being paranoid again.”

Shiqin Bari narrowed his eyes and scanned him, but finding no flaw in Lianzhi’s expression, he let it go.

They returned to the King’s tent. Shiqin Bari was still uneasy; for the first two days, he stayed glued to Lianzhi’s side, refusing to leave him for even a step. Only in the last two days had he finally given him some space.

Shiqin Bari dismissed Xurigan and returned to the tent to find Lianzhi leaning over the table, practicing his calligraphy. His hands were beautiful, slender, elegant fingers with slightly pink nails. As he held the brush, his wrist moved with a grace that was both light and firm. It was a sight to behold.

Shiqin Bari watched for a moment before walking over and resting his chin on Lianzhi’s shoulder. “What are you writing now?”

Lianzhi was so engrossed that he had not noticed Shiqin Bari’s return. He jumped, and a drop of ink fell onto the paper. “You!”

Lianzhi gave him an annoyed shove, but Shiqin Bari did not budge. Taking advantage of the distraction, the youth moved the paperweight and took the sheet of paper.

“Picking lotus in the south pond in autumn, the lotus blossoms are taller than a man. I lower my head to play with the lotus seeds, the seeds are as clear as water.”

Shiqin Bari struggled through the lines. He recognized the characters, but when put together, he found them baffling. “What kind of poem is this? Talking about lotuses and seeds over and over again. What is this rubbish?”

Lianzhi snatched the paper back. “I told you that you would not understand. Give it back.”

Shiqin Bari let out a scoff of disdain. “You Zhou people love writing these flowery poems. They are confusing and give me a headache.”

Normally, this would have sparked a verbal sparring match or even a fierce battle between them, but today, Lianzhi remained strangely silent.

“What is wrong?” Shiqin Bari sensed something was off. “Are you actually angry?”

Lianzhi gave a forced laugh and pushed him gently. “Where would I find the energy to be angry at that?”

He turned away. But the moment his back was turned, the forced smile faded, replaced by a look of deep sorrow and anxiety.

He thought of the object Lu Jingce had slipped into his sleeve. It was a rolled-up scroll, a small portrait of himself.

In the painting, he was holding a twin lotus flower, his hair unbound and held up by a single hairpin. He was smiling brightly in the portrait, and Lianzhi remembered that day clearly.

That was the day he and his cousin had finally confessed their feelings for one another.

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