Capítulo 16: Qi Xiu’s Confession
"Your Majesty, this concubine is sad that you no longer visit me~" A sweet and seductive voice came from besides him, the sultry woman rubbing against him.
He An uncomfortably moved back, but he found himself bumping against another concubine—this time a male.
He looked up to Suyin and signaled for help but that dense girl just tilted her head and thought he wanted to spend time alone with his concubines, so she left to go find Pan Fengge.
"A-Feng, have some of these sweets!"
He An was left with several men and women attaching themselves to him on all sides.
When he had first arrived to the banquet hall, all procedures went as planned and the ministers and officials began to present their gifts one at a time. There were some ambassadors from foreign countries who had also arrived for the Emperor's birthday.
Some of them brought along beautiful slaves from their own countries as an offering to He An. It was during this point that Qi Xiu disappeared from his side and went out somewhere, missing the part where He An refused the slaves, and left him alone.
"Your Majesty, what are you thinking about~?" The male concubine filled his cup with wine and tried to feed him grapes. He An subconsciously refused and stood.
"...I'll be leaving now. You all can enjoy the rest of the celebration amongst yourselves." He made up an excuse to avoid their tricks to seduce him and headed towards the exit, not giving the concubines a chance to whine.
Once he was outside, he breathed out a sigh and decided to walk around for a while. The night sky was filled with stars and he could hear the night critters sing their songs in the trees and grass.
"Your Majesty?" He An heard a familiar voice call out for him and he looked in the direction of the voice.
"Qi Xiu." Upon seeing his cub, his voice softened.
"I thought you would be inside..." Qi Xiu was secretly happy, thinking He An had come to find him specifically. He rushed up to the Emperor's side and smiled.
"Ah. It was too noisy, so I wanted to come outside for a bit." He An gently ruffled the cub's hair and wrapped him with his robe. The air was chilly out and Qi Xiu's clothing looked thin, so he was worried his cub would be cold.
Qi Xiu's heart was fluttering and he clutched the robe like it was a rare piece of gold. He wanted to talk more when suddenly—
"Shuren, don't do this... this isn't right..."
Both He An and Qi Xiu heard a female's voice crying nearby.
"Ruo Lan, leave with me!" Another woman shouted.
He An thought it was a quarrel and decided to just ignore it, but his cub thought otherwise and was already peeking at the two that were arguing.
"..."
"Shuren, you and I will never be accepted! Besides... I'm already apart of His Majesty's harem. It's not possible between us." Ruo Lan sobbed.
The girl she called 'Shuren' embraced her tightly.
"Ruo Lan, we can run away together! You're the only person I'll ever love in this lifetime, I can't live without you." Shuren didn't want to let her beloved go. Even if she had to go against the Emperor himself, she wanted Ruo Lan's happiness to be with her!
"Shuren... I'm sorry!" Ruo Lan pushed the other girl and ran in the direction of He An and Qi Xiu, leaving behind a trail of tears. She didn't watch where she was going and when she accidentally bumped into He An, she gasped after realizing who he was.
"Y—Your Majesty!" There was a look of panic within her eyes and more tears welled up.
He An finally understood these women were lovers and felt an ache in his heart knowing he was the cause of their parting. He had forgotten how discriminatory the ancient world was towards women, and it was his position as Emperor that was preventing these two from being together.
"Your Majesty, Ruo Lan is innocent. I... this lowly one dared to seduce her, please don't blame her!" Shuren knelt down and begged with desperation. She had chased after Ruo Lan and saw the Emperor standing there, and before he could get angry at Ruo Lan, she had wanted to stand up for her beloved.
Qi Xiu stared at them and said nothing.
He had known about these two from his last life. Their relationship had been exposed by a viscous concubine and the two ladies faced backlash from officials who didn't approve, so they convinced the Emperor to execute them.
He didn't know what happened to them, but they weren't heard from ever again.
Qi Xiu knew they hadn't died though. Although He An never trusted him enough to tell him of what occurred to these women, he was certain He An hadn't killed them.
"I'm sorry." As expected, He An gently helped Shuren up and apologized.
Shuren was obviously surprised by the answer she received because her expression was weird, and she thought she was dreaming until Ruo Lan ran to her and cried.
"I can pretend I was never here, so you both can run away together." He An watched as their eyes lit up for a split second before dimming and he added, "Don't worry about being chased either."
To prove he wasn't messing with them, he turned to leave and Qi Xiu followed.
After the two of them were far away from the women, he was stopped by Qi Xiu, who tugged at his sleeves.
"Why did you let them go?" Qi Xiu questioned.
"I realized something important." He An didn't elaborate but his cub probably understood.
Not everyone in the harem was here on their own accord. Shuren and Ruo Lan were examples of those who had no control of their fates.
As a person from the modeling industry, there were several gay and lesbian models, so he understood not everyone was attracted to the same gender. He An wasn't sure about his own sexuality but he knew his feelings weren't limited to just women.
Since Ruo Lan didn't feel attraction towards the Emperor, and the Emperor also felt the same about her, her life would be wasted spent in the harem with no purpose.
He An didn't want to take away another person's freedom, so he wanted to do something about it.
"...Should I get rid of the harem?" He mumbled.
While He An was thinking of a plan to get rid of the imperial harem, Qi Xiu was also thinking of another topic.
After a bit of contemplation, he decided on something and cleared his throat.
"Your Majesty, I'm very grateful you were born." Qi Xiu's ears turned red as he whispered.
He An blinked and wondered if this was a way of wishing him a happy birthday when suddenly, Qi Xiu leaned in towards him and pulled him down. He didn't even have the time to process what was happening when he felt something soft press against his lips.
After several seconds of their lips touching, Qi Xiu finally pulled away and blushed before stammering, "This is my gift to you..."
By this time, He An couldn't hear what Qi Xiu was saying because his brain had completely stopped functioning.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
yatohhh
yatohhh Yes, yes! Get rid of the harem and make Xiu Xiu your only bride! HAHA YOU CAN’T SAY THIS IS A “FAMILIAL INTERACTION” ANYMORE CAN YOU AN AN! ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
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