My Husband Can't Possibly Be a Tyrant Emperor! - Chapter 11.2

As the saying goes, if you find a man handsome and feel a physical reaction upon seeing him, it may not necessarily be love—it could just be attraction. But if you find a man pitiable and feel compassion for him, then you’re done for.

He got up again and spent nearly the entire night reading medical books.

Yet he couldn’t find a better treatment. He came across many cases with a wide range of symptoms—both mental and physical—some of which he couldn’t associate at all with the gentle and refined Fu Yi he knew.

As he was about to fall asleep, he vaguely felt that something was off in the night. Upon careful thought, he realized the neighbor’s rooster hadn’t crowed for the past two days.

With no crowing of roosters or barking of dogs, the world was eerily silent and cold.

At that moment, the sky had just begun to tinge with a faint blue, and Li Qing was already up.

He glanced toward the main room, quietly opened the main gate, draped his robe over his shoulders, and went next door. Soon, he returned to the east wing with a stack of reports in hand.

The emperor slept very little and was already awake, draped in a cloak and reclining on the couch.

Li Qing brought the reports to him.

Now, every ten days, Prime Minister Xie and the others would compile and summarize the court affairs into reports and send them to the emperor. This was originally just a formality, but the emperor actually read them carefully each time. It was only when reviewing these reports that he would shed his lazy and carefree demeanor, losing all traces of his gentle and refined appearance. His expression turned serious, as if revealing his truest self.

Young, handsome, and ambitious. Soon after, eunuchs entered carrying food boxes and placed them in the kitchen.

Li Qing lit the fire, heated some water for Kuang Xuexian, and stood by the kitchen door with his hands tucked into his sleeves, waiting for Kuang Xuexian to wake up.

After what felt like a long time, Kuang Xuexian finally emerged from his room, yawning.

Li Qing greeted him with a beaming smile, “Good morning, sir.”

“Morning,” Kuang Xuexian replied groggily, dark circles under his eyes.

His fair complexion made any slight discoloration under his eyes particularly noticeable.

Squinting, he headed toward the bathroom. Li Qing reminded him, “The master is still inside.”

Kuang Xuexian stopped and saw that the bathroom door wasn’t fully closed. Fu Yi pushed it open and looked out at him, saying, “You’re up so late.”

Kuang Xuexian hummed in response, noticing that Fu Yi was draped in a cloak, his inner robe loosely tied, exposing his chest as he washed his hands.

He walked right in and said, “I spent the whole night reading medical books for you.”

Li Qing asked, “What does the sir mean by that?”

Fu Yi replied, “I told him about my illness.”

Kuang Xuexian saw Li Qing’s expression turn to one of shock.

Kuang Xuexian rinsed his mouth, dipped his toothbrush into tooth powder, and began brushing his teeth. When he turned his head, he saw Fu Yi take off his cloak and begin removing his inner robe.

Startled, he asked, “What are you doing?”

Fu Yi said, “Wiping myself down.”

Kuang Xuexian prided himself on being cleaner than most people of ancient times, but Fu Yi seemed even more fastidious. Despite the cold weather, he insisted on wiping himself down in the morning—and with cold water, no less.

Fu Yi glanced at him, then reached out and closed the bathroom door.

The door blocked out the light from outside, plunging the bathroom into sudden darkness. Kuang Xuexian was instantly wide awake, pausing with the toothbrush still in his mouth. But he didn’t leave, listening as cold water splashed loudly beside him.

His bathhouse was converted from a side room, with separate wet and dry areas. The washing area was just spacious enough for one grown man, but a bit cramped for two. He wondered if using cold water to wipe down in this weather would be too chilly. Then he thought, could this be related to his illness? Would it affect his health? Lost in these swirling thoughts, he gazed at the thin morning light filtering through the window paper.

Fu Yan seemed to have no sense of bodily shame, likely because he was accustomed to being attended by servants since childhood. But today, he merely pulled open his inner garment, gave himself a quick wipe, and then called Li Qing to bring in his clothes.

Li Qing, having seen something, glanced back at Kuang Xuexian.

After rinsing his mouth, Kuang Xuexian looked over, only to see Fu Yan already draped in a thick cloak and heading out.

Today’s meal was once again lavish. Having stayed up all night, Kuang Xuexian had little appetite. He said to Li Qing, “There’s no need to prepare such elaborate meals in the future. Did you get up in the middle of the night?”

Li Qing felt deeply ashamed. “This servant cooks very quickly.”

Kuang Xuexian said, “From now on, I’ll buy the groceries. Just cook whatever I bring.”

Li Qing was startled and quickly replied, “My master is very particular about his meals. It’s better if this servant does the shopping. I’ll just prepare less in the future.”

“I’ll handle it these next two days. I won’t be going to the shop.”

Li Qing: “Huh?”

Kuang Xuexian said, “I work five days and rest two.”

Li Qing wondered aloud, “Is that the custom here in Xijing?”

Kuang Xuexian smiled. “No, it’s my own rule.”

Li Qing remarked, “So you can run a business like that.”

Truly, just as willful as His Majesty.

“Today, I’ll take you and your master around. Tonight is the annual Phoenix Temple Lantern Festival. The city will be bustling, and there’s even a ‘Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix’ performance at the temple.”

But Li Qing said, “Just take my master around, sir. This servant won’t be joining. I’d like to take the chance to meet a couple of friends I made in the city recently.”

Kuang Xuexian had no reason to refuse. “Then we’ll wait for you at Xiao Qing Huan tonight. We’ll have dinner and then head straight up the mountain.”

The weather today was also perfect—clear skies after the rain, not a cloud in sight. The spring sky was like a piece of jade, ideal for an outing.

After the meal, Fu Yan went to the east wing to change. Li Qing laid out all the clothes they had brought.

The room was too small and simple. Li Qing recalled how, back in the palace, when Fu Yan dressed, dozens of splendid robes would be hung on clothing racks. Four eunuchs would carry them out, four palace maids would be responsible for ironing and scenting them, while he personally attended to His Majesty’s dressing. In this season, the palace would already be filled with early spring flowers cultivated in the halls and corridors, with bamboo curtains hung and sachets dangling from them. The spring breeze would drift into the halls, filling them with fragrance.

Now, in this narrow and humble side room, there wasn’t even a place to hang clothes—they had to be spread out on the bed. Sensing His Majesty’s thoughts, Li Qing tried to offer suggestions: “For going out, something bright and cheerful would look nice.”

In the end, Fu Yan chose an outer robe in reed-gray with a pattern of purple grass clusters. As Li Qing helped him into it, he asked, “Has Your Majesty been speaking too much with the gentleman? Won’t he become suspicious?”

His Majesty replied expressionlessly, “He’s a normal person.”

True. Li Qing glanced around the cramped side room.

Indeed, any normal person would never believe that an emperor could end up as a live-in son-in-law in an ordinary commoner’s home!

Who wasn’t normal was obvious!

This spring robe was elegantly simple yet strikingly fresh. After changing and stepping out, Kuang Xuexian’s eyes indeed lit up.

He never hesitated to praise His Majesty’s beauty, his gaze practically glowing. Li Qing glanced at the emperor with a smile.

Young Master Kuang was also dressed brightly today, wearing a green silk robe with a crystal belt tied around his waist. Under the clear sunlight, he appeared even more slender and fair. The trend of admiring beauty was rampant in Jiantai—men would apply powder, wear flowers in their hair, and were extremely fond of adornment. There was even an annual ranking of the most handsome men in the capital. He had seen many renowned beauties, but he still believed that Kuang Xuexian stood out as unparalleled in his type. No wonder he had caught the emperor’s eye.

Li Qing said, “For the convenience of the young master and the lord, I rented a horse early this morning. To avoid disturbing the lord and the young master’s rest, I tied it under the phoenix tree outside.”

Kuang Xuexian was truly moved.

He felt Li Qing was simply too perfect—thoughtful, considerate, and capable of everything.

As they stepped out of the house, they indeed saw a horse tied under the phoenix tree outside.

Just as Kuang Xuexian was about to mount the horse, he was unexpectedly supported by Fu Li, who lifted him gently onto the horse. He was taken aback for a moment, but Fu Li had already mounted the horse himself.

He had always thought of Fu Li as refined and scholarly, but his mounting posture was surprisingly agile. He was more than happy to play the delicate role in front of Fu Li.

With one hand gripping the reins and the other holding him, Fu Li gently nudged the horse with his legs, guiding them through the morning mist and sunlight.

The doors of a few neighboring houses quietly opened, and another young man in casual attire rode out on horseback.

Li Qing said, “Ying Qi, protect His Majesty.”

Ying Qi didn’t utter a word, only nodded before riding his horse to catch up.

An attendant then approached with a small sedan chair. “Chief Steward.”

With their assistance, Li Qing stepped into the sedan. His smiling expression turned cold as he said, “To the temporary palace.”

The attendant bowed, lowered the sedan curtain, and the group quietly escorted the sedan toward the temporary palace.

This was Kuang Xuexian’s first time riding a horse with someone.

Fu Li’s breath brushed against his neck, and occasionally his straight nose would graze his ear.

Kuang Xuexian couldn’t help but think of the small mole on the tip of Fu Li’s nose. His ear grew sensitive because of it.

This could be considered their first official date.

He himself was beginning to feel something from all the rubbing and brushing. He wanted to ask Fu Li—didn’t he feel it too?

Later, he no longer needed to ask. After a couple of bumps, he could feel it.

It was pressing against the small of his back.

But Fu Li seemed to have long grown accustomed to it, or perhaps he was too much of a gentleman to show any extra reaction.

What an elegant and restrained young master. Kuang Xuexian tried his best to lean forward, his waist never having been so pliant in his life.

Fu Li, meanwhile, lowered his head slightly, finally able to fulfill his desire—to press close to Kuang Xuexian’s nape and inhale the scent of his skin.

Only when pressed close did he realize it wasn’t the fragrance of bath beans or incense that attracted him.

It was the scent of this person’s skin.

Like an infant drawn to its mother’s scent, he was drawn to this fragrance—except he was a grown man, and his attraction carried something else.

His dark eyes grew profound. The mole on the tip of his nose brushed against the stray hairs on Kuang Xuexian’s nape, his tall nose bridge seemingly eager to find any crevice to press into and inhale deeply.

His gaze, too, seemed to have a will of its own, trailing down Kuang Xuexian’s slender back to the slight curve of his waist as he leaned forward.

Her waist was slender enough to be held in one hand, breathtakingly beautiful. His gaze swept over the curves that swelled beneath her waist, as if searching for a crevice to slip into.

Fu Yi thought darkly, Kuang Xuexian was truly pitiful.

His lips lightly brushed the back of Kuang Xuexian’s head without leaving a trace.

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