The emperor didn't stop summoning him. Even after a week, when Hua Zhixuan's had more or less made a full recovery and they could no longer remain absent from the petty politicking of the morning assemblies, the same messenger eunuch waited outside Changchun Palace to present the same invitation to him again and again.
Yan Zheyun tried to pretend he couldn't feel the jealous eyes glaring holes into his back every time he departed in the direction of Tianlu Pavilion. Once there, nothing had changed. When he wasn't grinding ink, he was lounging on the divan, white robes cascading onto the floor as he poured over books and scrolls about the past military conquests of the imperial forefathers or interesting travel annals that painted a colourful picture of the Ye Empire.
A/N: Thank you very much for reading! <3 (We're not going to get another R18 for a while and it has nothing to do with how hard they are to write LOL)
Yan Zheyun: I don’t believe in a friends with benefits arrangement.
Liu Yao: Good thing we’re not friends.