Strongly Spoiled by the Villainous Tyrant After Climbing into the Dragon’s Bed - Chapter 2

The lingering scent of incense swirled through the hall, yet the ground remained bone-chillingly cold. The emperor, clad in black robes, held the youth, who reached only as high as his chest, in his arms.

“You are wet,” Tan Huairan said. “Why is your body covered in dampness?”

Is there seriously something wrong with this man’s brain?! Why is he suddenly so gentle?

Zhan Yueqing’s heart shook violently. He couldn’t help but speak, coughing fitfully as he stammered, “You… cough, cough, cough…”

Perhaps because of Tan Huairan’s previous actions, Zhan Yueqing felt a flicker of warmth, and the hostility he felt toward the emperor dissipated. Of course, it was also possible he simply lacked the energy left to curse the man.

Zhan Yueqing lifted his eyes and scanned Tan Huairan’s face. Originally, Tan Huairan’s hair had been meticulously styled, and his handsome face had been pristine. But now, he looked utterly disheveled; his hair crown was crooked, and there was a terrifying bloody scratch on his neck.

Zhan Yueqing froze, realizing that he had caused that wound during his frantic struggle earlier, and it was he who had clawed the man’s hair into a mess.

Sensing the vast difference between his current appearance and the version of himself that had just been shouting about strangling the boy to death, Tan Huairan stiffly averted his gaze, refusing to look at him.

Zhan Yueqing didn’t notice the avoidance. Looking at that face, his expression shifted repeatedly. He softened his tone, testing the waters: “Does Your Majesty truly find me hideous? Then shall I wear a mask tomorrow?”

The tone was soft and light, like a kitten’s paw scratching at Tan Huairan’s heart. The gloom in Tan Huairan’s eyes dissipated significantly.

“—No need.”

The person holding him radiated a scorching heat. That temperature transferred from Tan Huairan’s body to Zhan Yueqing, who was only wearing an outer robe over inner garments of thin gauze. After the ordeal just now, he felt even colder.

He wanted to say more upon hearing this, but suddenly sneezed right at the tyrant, the mist in his eyes growing heavier.

Tan Huairan: “…”

A hidden guard lurking in the shadows drew a sharp breath, his heart racing with shock. This person actually dared to sneeze on the Master! Master will surely cut him into a thousand pieces!

The guard, Zhou Jiu, was poised and ready, prepared to jump down at any moment to drag Zhan Yueqing out to be beaten to death. Their Master loved beating people to death. Hee hee.

“Zhou Jiu.”

Tan Huairan suddenly spoke.

The hidden guard—Zhou Jiu—jumped down excitedly and knelt on one knee. “Your subordinate is here!” He knew it! Death by caning! Hee hee!

“The Jinxiu Palace has been in disrepair for years; has your brain also forgotten to be repaired?” Tan Huairan’s expression was icy.

Zhou Jiu froze. He glanced at his master’s dark face, then at Zhan Yueqing, who was shivering unconsciously in Tan Huairan’s arms. He reacted quickly, hurriedly pleading for mercy: “Your Majesty, forgive me! The floor heating in the hall has been broken for years and cannot be fixed immediately. This subordinate will fetch charcoal braziers at once.”

Huh? Charcoal braziers?

Zhan Yueqing’s gaze turned vacant for a moment. Does this dog-man want me to die of carbon monoxide poisoning?

The “dog-man” then added: “And clothes.”

Zhou Jiu hurriedly took his orders and ran off.

Suddenly, hands slipped beneath his knees. A violent sensation of weightlessness hit him, and Zhan Yueqing’s vision went dark as his body was easily lifted. His head felt dizzy—whether it was an aftereffect of being strangled or because he had caught a cold, he wasn’t sure. It took a moment for him to realize Tan Huairan had carried him to the bed.

“…He really must have a split personality. He was so fierce just now, and now he’s like this?” Zhan Yueqing sneezed again, thinking dizzily.

“System,” Zhan Yueqing called out in his mind while enduring the discomfort, “Does the tyrant have a split personality?”

System: 【Unknown.】

Zhan Yueqing: “Is he going to f*** me next?”

The System hesitated: 【Perhaps? The past of the tyrant Tan Huairan has not been entered into the database. Please forgive me for being unable to analyze his personality for you.】

Zhan Yueqing frowned slightly. “I need leverage over Tan Huairan—something I can use to negotiate.”

After what had just happened, the System was also scared. It replied readily: 【I can provide that, but in exchange, you will lose your sight for a few days—of course, I won’t make you blind right this second.】

Zhan Yueqing agreed, and instantly, a piece of information surged into his mind.

The conversation with the System lasted only a second. Tan Huairan didn’t notice his daze, assuming he was simply stunned by the cold.

“Take off the wet clothes.”

Zhan Yueqing had just snapped back to reality when he heard the tyrant speak. Tan Huairan seemed somewhat puzzled. “How did you get so wet?”

Zhan Yueqing’s voice was a bit hoarse, clearly affected by the cold, and sounded muffled: “Because the water in the bath was cold.”

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered he was wearing black gauze underneath, and his body stiffened. Wait, did the tyrant just tell him to take off his clothes? The clothes weren’t his choice, yet he was the one who had to lose face—what kind of earthly suffering was this?

Zhan Yueqing thought with a grimace. He sluggishly shed the outer robe, glancing at Tan Huairan from time to time, appearing wary. He wasn’t usually this obedient, okay? He only took them off because he felt the cold would get worse if he wore wet clothes for too long!

Looking at his guarded expression, Tan Huairan let out a cold laugh. He turned his thumb ring. “Afraid I will move against you? Rest assured, I am not one of those frivolous, lustful—”

His deep voice came to an abrupt halt.

The slits in the black gauze revealed glimpses of the youth’s form, the damp fabric clinging to his body. The black patterns on his thighs traced upward toward his waist…

Zhan Yueqing’s jade-white toes curled.

Tan Huairan suddenly recalled a long time ago, the way those legs had hooked around his neck and shoulders. His childhood “White Moonlight” from the modern era… who was also his… stepmother.

Zhan Yueqing finally finished removing the outer robe. The inner black gauze clung wetly to him, leaving little to the imagination. The hall was too cold, so he grabbed the quilt on the bed and wrapped himself up.

Only after finishing this did he realize Tan Huairan had stopped talking. Did he suddenly go mute? Or did his personality split again? Zhan Yueqing looked up at him in confusion.

He saw that the gloom in Tan Huairan’s eyes had deepened, and his fingers were clenched slightly.

“Withdraw.”

The Emperor spoke again. The various hidden guards retreated in silent understanding.

Zhan Yueqing didn’t understand who the man was talking to. Thinking it was directed at him, he wrapped himself in the quilt and shuffled a few steps further into the bed, looking like a little snail retreating into its shell. Compared to Tan Huairan, his frame was much smaller; now bundled up, he looked even younger.

Childish, Tan Huairan thought.

“Are you leaving such a wide gap so you can build a carriage in the middle?” Tan Huairan said flatly.

Zhan Yueqing: “…” No, I’m afraid you want to ‘build a person’ with me. Even though I can’t actually produce a person, I can still barely manage the process of building one.

He thought this in his heart but didn’t dare say it aloud. Instead, imitating the honorifics he had just heard, he muttered: “This subordinate has a cold and fears infecting Your Majesty. Please… please Your Majesty move to another concubine’s palace.”

Tan Huairan’s eyes narrowed as he replied, “I have no concubines.”

What does that have to do with me? The point is I don’t want to do it with you, Zhan Yueqing thought, his eyes looking at him dizzily. Besides, don’t emperors in period dramas have three thousand beauties? Why don’t you have any?

Zhan Yueqing glanced at the dark circles under Tan Huairan’s eyes and had a sudden realization. The tyrant looks a bit ‘kidney-deficient’ (impotent). Even if he wanted to ‘do it,’ he likely lacks the strength.

If this were the modern era, with a face like that, it would be a pity if he couldn’t go seven times a night. But since it was ancient times, Zhan Yueqing felt completely relieved. However, his head was still swimming. “Your Majesty—A-choo!”

He sneezed again.

Tan Huairan’s dark gaze paused. He turned toward the outside and said sinisterly, “Did the charcoal braziers die on the road?”

As soon as he spoke, a line of palace servants entered the hall. Gilded robes, charcoal braziers, hand warmers, and a late-night meal—everything was provided. The room seemed to grow warmer simply because of the presence of more people.

Zhan Yueqing, however, was still cold and buried his face in the quilt.

“Your Majesty did not finish work until the hour of the Ox and has not yet had dinner,” Zhou Jiu said. “Those below took the initiative to arrange a midnight snack for Your Majesty. Please move to the table.”

Tan Huairan caught sight of Zhan Yueqing’s movement out of the corner of his eye. He grabbed a hot water bottle, stuffed it into the quilt, and then stood up, his expression cold. “Change my clothes first—and bring the dinner inside to be served.”

Servants came forward to untie the complex and magnificent imperial robes from Tan Huairan’s body. They kept their heads down, eyes fixed on their noses and noses on their hearts, not daring to look anywhere else, nor showing the slightest curiosity about the person on the bed.

A hot water bottle was suddenly thrust into Zhan Yueqing’s arms. The icy quilt immediately warmed up, and his face seemed to flush along with it.

He really suspected Tan Huairan had a split personality. He was choking me just now; why is he acting like this now? If the man could just stay mean to him, he wouldn’t be so unsure of how to face him.

I originally wanted to poison him… should I still do it?

“Come out,” Tan Huairan suddenly said. “Eat.” He paused, seemingly adding an explanation: “I mean for you to come out and have a meal.”

Zhan Yueqing dithered, instinctively saying, “I’m not hungry.” In truth, that gauze clothing was too strange; there was no way he was going out wearing that.

Tan Huairan gave a cold snort and ignored him, beginning to eat. Zhan Yueqing caught the scent of the food, which stimulated his appetite, causing his stomach to growl.

Hearing the rustling sound behind him, Tan Huairan, who had expected this, stole a glance and saw Zhan Yueqing poking his head out from the quilt.

The inner hall was now empty of servants. Tan Huairan had changed into bright yellow sleeping robes, his hair was down, and the terrifying aura he carried had vanished along with his formal robes.

“Your Majesty…” Zhan Yueqing couldn’t resist the temptation of the food. “Can you give me a clean outer robe?”

Tan Huairan paused, then stood up and tossed one of his own inner robes from a rack over to him. The dragon bed was wide, so the robe didn’t land inside; Zhan Yueqing had to reach out a single hand to pull it into the quilt, rustling about as he changed.

The gauze clothing was extremely revealing, and Zhan Yueqing had long been unable to stand it. Now that he had changed, he finally dared to crawl out.

On the golden table sat over a dozen exquisite dishes. Zhan Yueqing spotted a fragrant steamed fish and immediately used his chopsticks to take a piece. The fish melted in his mouth, tasting divine. Zhan Yueqing’s eyes lit up as if filled with tiny stars. He took several more pieces of fish in quick succession, eating them with the translucent, pearly rice.

Tan Huairan suddenly set down his chopsticks and watched him eat.

Zhan Yueqing was so engrossed in eating that he didn’t feel anything was wrong, but the System in his mind was already stunned: 【What are you doing? The person opposite you is a tyrant! You have to ask for permission before eating! Don’t you usually read ancient-setting novels?】

Zhan Yueqing truly didn’t read such novels. Hearing this, he stiffened and looked up, only to see Tan Huairan staring at him with a cold, predatory gaze, as if he might be dragged out to be beaten to death at any second.

“Why have you stopped eating?” Tan Huairan asked, puzzled. The corner of his mouth twitched upward by an almost imperceptible margin.

Did he just smile? Did his mouth turn up by two pixels? Zhan Yueqing thought in alarm.

“This Red Brocade Chicken is a tribute item; the taste is decent. Try some.” Tan Huairan pushed a plate of stir-fried chicken that looked perfect in color, aroma, and taste toward him, his expression indifferent.

Recognizing the species, Zhan Yueqing gasped and instinctively shook his head. “I don’t want it.” This is a Class II protected animal! Eating this means three years in prison!

“You’ve transmigrated. It’s real. This isn’t a nightmare,” the System said through gritted teeth. “Modern thinking won’t keep you alive here! Stop thinking about the stupid things you just thought!”

Zhan Yueqing: “…” Fine.

“Why not?” Tan Huairan’s eyes flickered, as if glazed with frost, as he swept a glance over him. “If you don’t eat something good, will you be able to endure me later?”

Zhan Yueqing: “…” Kidney-deficiency bro, you really do want to ‘build a person’ with me.

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhan Yueqing understood why Tan Huairan had been acting like he had a split personality. It turned out he had the intention of having him attend to him in bed. True, who would hit someone they want to sleep with? Being gentle is only normal.

“Does Your Majesty want me to serve in bed?” Zhan Yueqing looked at him, his appetite gone. He picked up a handkerchief to wipe his hands, his gaze fixed on Tan Huairan.

“Why call me Majesty?” Tan Huairan raised an eyebrow and suddenly said, “Call me ‘Husband.'”

Zhan Yueqing: “…” Husband your head! I should definitely go through with the poisoning!