To their credit, the eunuchs were gentle when they lowered Yan Zheyun down. They assisted him into a kneeling position and he tried his best to clutch at the blanket from within to prevent it from unravelling about him. His eyes fluttered open and he found himself on the ground before the emperor.
What he saw made his breath hitch in his throat.
The emperor was seated on the edge of the dragon bed. He leaned back on his arms, his legs sprawled outwards with a casualness that Yan Zheyun hadn't thought him capable of. Despite his relaxed posture, he was looking down at Yan Zheyun with an assessing gaze that made Yan Zheyun tense up. He was suddenly reminded of a poem his English lit major dorm-mate used to rave about (1). The emperor's eyes were very dark but there was a sharp glint in their depths that made him feel like he was being watched by a tiger in the forest at night.
(1) The Tyger, by William Blake.
(2) 'Immovable like the Mountain': One of 4 key points of battle in Sun Tzu's Art of War. The other 3 are 'swift as the wind, quiet as the forest, as daring as fire'.
A/N: Thank you very much for reading! <3
Generation Gap:
Yan Zheyun: Your Majesty, I’m thirsty.
Liu Yao: Someone attend to us! This sovereign’s beloved concubine requires a cup of water.
Yan Zheyun: …nvm.
Summoning pen count: 51!
Special thanks to: Fuffyflirt, Doge_Britt, and Snow_fox for the golden tickets!!!<3 And to Lavendelius, KatS2020, Nadine_Linter, Frooza_pops, Shooky_VSiga, Fialova, Fluffyflirt, TillTheWeeHours, Snow_fox , Bossyjls, bubble_bunny, Saina_Khati_9256, AshGray, AgiB, jesse_ just, AmeTora, Jazz_Labadesos, Nildete_Santos_0733, lenuser, lijffu, HLewis35, Daoist5nsf6U, SmolBabyBun, and CalamariCrums for the power stones/comments!