Ping Zhao Lu

Chapter 119 Are you okay?

As Xu Zhouye thought about it, his thoughts gradually became blurry, and his eyelids began to twitch. Before long, fatigue washed over him like a tidal wave, quickly drowning him, and he soon fell into a deep sleep.

After Chu Yunxiao finished his shower, he carefully dried his wet hair with a towel and slowly walked out. When he reached the bedside, Xu Zhouye was already sleeping soundly, breathing deeply.

Chu Yunxiao stood quietly beside the couch, gazing at Xu Zhouye's peaceful sleeping face with eyes as gentle as water, his heart full of pity.

After watching for a long time, Chu Yunxiao got on the couch, gently lowered the curtain, then stretched out his arms and gently embraced Xu Zhouye beside him.

Feeling the other person's warm body, Chu Yunxiao closed his eyes contentedly and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, a faint ray of sunlight streamed through the window into the bedroom. At that moment, an inexplicable chill crept in from nowhere, seeping through the thin curtains and quietly invading everything within the bed.

Xu Zhouye, who was sleeping, suddenly felt a chill and shivered involuntarily.

Out of instinct, he subconsciously moved towards the heat source next to him, trying to find more warmth.

In this series of unconscious movements, his hands and feet had unknowingly wrapped around Chu Yunxiao who was lying beside the pillow.

Xu Zhouye seemed accustomed to such close contact, and even rubbed his head unconsciously against Chu Yunxiao's neck, as if that was the safest and most comfortable harbor.

When Chu Yunxiao felt such intimate behavior from the person in his arms, his heart suddenly felt like a kitten was scratching it gently with its claws, and it was very itchy.

At the same time, his body naturally produced a physiological reaction, and the hand that was originally hugging Xu Zhouye tightened involuntarily, so that there was no gap between the two of them.

Xu Zhouye quickly felt the burning heat between his legs. Perhaps because he'd experienced this before, he naturally moved, trying to distance himself while also seeming to close the distance.

Chu Yunxiao was touched by Xu Zhouye's unintentional touch, and soon he felt a warm current surging from his lower abdomen, and his originally steady breathing began to become rapid.

He took a deep breath, reached out his hand, gently patted Xu Zhouye's back, and lowered his voice to coax him softly: "Don't move, it will make me uncomfortable."

Xu Zhouye, who was in a daze, seemed to understand these words, and actually became as obedient as a child, lying still and quiet.

Seeing this, Chu Yunxiao felt a little relieved. He closed his eyes and secretly calmed down his chaotic mood and the desire that was easily aroused in his body this early in the morning.

But who would have thought that at this moment, Xu Zhouye, as if having a beautiful dream, stretched out his hands without warning and put his arms around Chu Yunxiao's neck. Then, he unconsciously let out a dull hum.

This sudden action caused Chu Yunxiao's desire, which had just subsided, to burn again.

He felt as if he was in a sea of ​​​​fire and couldn't extricate himself.

Unable to endure this unbearable torture, Chu Yunxiao took a breath for a while, then slowly loosened his arms that had been tightly hugging Xu Zhouye, trying to break free from this extremely tempting bathing sea.

However, the moment he let go, Xu Zhouye opened his mouth and bit the emperor's neck without hesitation.

Chu Yunxiao shuddered, letting out a suppressed groan. He lowered his eyes, gazing at the Queen, who was now burying her head in the crook of his neck like a small animal, a flicker of surprise and helplessness in his eyes.

After Xu Zhouye bit him, he became quiet again as before and no longer moved.

Chu Yunxiao took a deep breath helplessly, touched the red bite mark on his neck, squinted his eyes, and breathed heavily.

*

Ever since Shang Jiu appeared in Fangfei Pavilion wearing the uniform of the Chief Justice, those officials who usually behaved in a suspicious manner became like frightened birds and rarely set foot in this peaceful place of Fangfei Pavilion.

Even so, Zhuang Yan still takes time to come here and listen to music.

But I drank a lot less.

Sometimes his friends would look at him in disbelief when they saw that he had drunk less, and even tease him whether he had met his ideal partner and changed for the better.

Every time he encountered these problems, Zhuang Yan felt speechless.

How could quitting drinking be linked to love? Why couldn't it simply be that he'd learned the importance of staying healthy and that was the reason he quit?

Of course, the latter said this with a bit of guilt.

Yes, I understand.

But more of it was being stimulated.

He couldn't bear it when he thought of what Xiang Heng said to him that time!

If you are a man, you can’t stand it!

Even if he can't get hard with girls in this life, he can't submit to a man!

Especially his immediate boss!

He really couldn't understand Xiang Heng's train of thought.

Who would like a boss who exploits them every day?

The more Zhuang Yan thought about it, the angrier he became.

Without saying a word, he picked up the big bowl in front of him and started drinking cold water, one bowl after another. In the blink of an eye, he had drunk more than twenty bowls.

Pei Xian, who was sitting across from him, looked at the scene in disbelief. After a while, he came to his senses and asked worriedly, "Are you... okay?"

When Zhuang Yan heard this, he suddenly put down the bowl in his hand with a loud "bang" sound, and said seriously: "What can happen to me! This cold water tastes good." After saying that, he deliberately smacked his lips, as if he was really savoring the taste of the cold water.

Seeing this, Pei Xian couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, and an indescribable expression appeared on his face. He wondered what medicine was wrong with this guy today.

However, since the other party said that everything was fine, he didn't ask any more questions and could only watch Zhuang Yan continue to sulk.

Zhuang Yan couldn't help but feel even more annoyed when he saw that Pei Xian looked like he couldn't understand him at all.

He had a lot to say, but seeing Pei Xian's attitude, he suddenly lost the desire to speak. However, that nameless fire continued to burn in his heart. If he didn't say something, he might be suffocated to death.

Just when Zhuang Yan was finally thinking of what to say, Pei Xian suddenly spoke up and asked, "Did you hear what happened in Donghu last night?"

Zhuang Yan was stunned by the sudden question, and then he frowned and asked, "What's the matter? How come I don't know?" As he spoke, he rubbed his temples with his hands, trying to recall whether he had heard any news about Donghu last night.

Pei Xian sighed helplessly and explained, "It's about my brother's marriage. You should know about it, right?"

"I know, isn't it about the fifth daughter of the Wen family?" Zhuang Yan said with a slight smile on his face. "Oh, what a coincidence! I happened to have a mission yesterday, so I really couldn't go and congratulate you. But, I prepared this gift long ago and had it delivered!"

Pei Xian was speechless for a moment. After a pause, he slowly spoke, "Actually, that's not what I wanted to tell you. It's that during the wedding yesterday, a lot of Kongming lanterns suddenly fell from the sky, and then a huge fire broke out."

"What!" Zhuang Yan's eyes widened upon hearing this, his face filled with disbelief. "Such a big deal? I only just found out about it now! Are your brother and sister-in-law okay?"

"Don't worry, they're both safe and sound," Pei Xian quickly replied. "As for why you haven't heard of this, perhaps it's because the news has been deliberately suppressed. After all, the Emperor and Empress were present at the scene..."

"Huh? The Queen is here too?" Zhuang Yan was startled again, his brows furrowed as he demanded, "What exactly is going on? Tell me everything right now! Your fragmented speech is driving me crazy!"

Pei Xian looked at his anxious and impatient expression, shook his head helplessly, then took a deep breath and began to recount in detail everything that had happened in Donghu last night.

Zhuang Yan sat there quietly listening. As the story progressed, the expression on his face became more and more solemn. In the end, he seemed to be frozen in his seat, unable to move.

Especially when he heard the thrilling scene where Xu Zhouye was attacked by an assassin, Zhuang Yan felt his heart instantly rise to his throat and he was so nervous that he didn't even dare to breathe.

"Come to think of it, this is my first time seeing the Emperor and Empress up close... I'm quite nervous." Pei Xian said as he scratched his head unconsciously, a silly smile on his face.

Zhuang Yan, who was standing aside, looked at him and couldn't help but chuckle: "What do you think? Isn't the Queen very beautiful?" As he spoke, his tone was filled with pride that was hard to conceal.

Pei Xian nodded hurriedly and replied, "Yes, but I dare not look at it for too long."

There was an emperor standing next to him, so he just took a quick glance.

Even though it was only a brief glance, it was enough for him to deeply remember the empress's cold and noble face. Moreover, the image of the empress and the emperor standing side by side looked like a match made in heaven, not to mention how well-matched they were.

"You just said that Prince Huai was here too?" Zhuang Yan suddenly asked.

Pei Xian hummed, "It's not surprising that Prince Huai is there, right? But I invited him here."

Zhuang Yan was stunned and asked in disbelief, "Why didn't you ever tell me that you and Prince Huai had such a relationship?"

Pei Xian frowned slightly, as if he was a little surprised by Zhuang Yan's intense reaction. He hesitated for a moment and slowly said, "Didn't I say that?" There was a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

Zhuang Yan suddenly felt guilty, his eyes flickering, and he stammered in response: "You...seem like you really didn't say that?" In fact, at this moment he was also wondering in his heart, whether he had heard Pei Xian talk about this matter?

Seeing this, Pei Xian couldn't help but fall into deep thought, trying hard to recall every little detail of the past, muttering to himself: "No... But I clearly remember mentioning it? Did I remember it wrong?" For a moment, the atmosphere between the two became a little awkward.

But Zhuang Yan soon broke the silence. He laughed dryly, waved his hand and said casually, "Oh, these are just trivial matters. I already know everything now. Let's not dwell on this issue anymore."

After saying this, he quickly stood up, straightened his sleeves, and then said to Pei Xian solemnly, "Let's not talk about this for now. I have to go to the palace quickly to see how the queen is doing."

Pei Xian nodded, showing his understanding of Zhuang Yan's haste, and replied softly, "Okay, then go ahead. Be careful on the road."

After receiving Pei Xian's consent, Zhuang Yan raised his foot without hesitation and strode towards the door. However, just as he was about to step over the threshold, he suddenly turned around and shouted to Pei Xian, "Don't forget to say hello to your brother and sister-in-law for me!"

Pei Xian smiled and replied, "I understand. Don't worry." After watching Zhuang Yan's figure gradually disappear from his sight, Pei Xian slowly withdrew his gaze and sat back in his chair thoughtfully.