Chương 39: You Are The Sweet I Crave

"Sir Yue," Hien coughed lightly and his green eyes turned to her, "Your fan."

He accepted the item and opened it. The scenery of the plum trees was brushed on with an image of an small cat silhouette underneath it. Mouth widening, he glanced at the brunette who smiled at him.

"Is this… Snow?" He questioned pointing to the small outline.

The female laughed softly into her sleeve as she glanced at her king. She bowed and left, leaving the blonde to stare at the image on the fan.

"Do you like it?" Wang Li questioned and he nodded.

"Do you know who painted this?" He looked toward his husband as they started walking with Snow beside them.

"Why do you wish to know?" The raven-haired beauty questioned with a knowing smile.

"I really like it and I want to know if this is Snow," he pointed to the outline of the cat, "Do you think so?"

"It is," Wang Li nodded and his green eyes sparkled.

"Really? Snow, look! It's you," the blonde showed the big cat beside him and laughed, "How do you know Ah Li?"

"I drew it," the king admitted and Ying Yue stopped in his walk.

"You… you drew this?" He looked at the painting in a new light, "You are just too perfect Ah Li."

He watched the smile stretched into a grin and the blonde felt his heart skipped loudly in his ears.

'Perfect,' he smiled happily bouncing as he continued his walk beside his lover and pet, 'I would never give this up.'

The sun began to set, and the chiming of bells could be heard. He held tighter to his husband's hand as he watched the villagers appear. Lanterns were lit all around the village, illuminated the transparency of the people. Yet, they were happy and excited for today.

Ying Yue should be scared.

This was the first time he had ever seen ghosts before, but he only felt… peace. A part of him thought that was strange, but the other part just ignored it. His husband was the Ghost King after all. They walked through the streets and many of the villagers who saw him smiled widely, bowing to him and the king. Children were running up and down the village playing games and eating mooncakes that Shen had made.

He smiled enjoying the night as the stars sprinkled the sky and the happy chatters filled the space. Continuing down the walkway, they saw Shen grilling and handing the beef stick to the villagers.

"Ah Li," he whispered close to the man, "The villagers… they could eat food, right?"

"Mm," the king nodded eating a mooncake and kissed the top of his head, "It is only today they could."

"Why is that?" He asked curiously looking around.

"My power is stronger today," smiled at his wife, "Because of you."

Cheeks dusted in red, Ying Yue found it hard to suppress the grin he was sporting.

'If I were to have met Wang Li in my other life…' he covered his mouth with his hand, 'I probably would go crazy with all his sweet talk and teasing and…' he glanced at the silver eyed male who was stuffing another cake into his mouth and looked away shyly, '… I would have lost my purity the very moment he touched me.'

"Sir Yue!" The children ran up to them with their lanterns, "Can you make me it again?"

Green eyes looked at the one calling him and his eyes widened slightly. This child was the one… the one that Sheng Shui made the golden plum blossom for.

'Wait… how did she know my name?' He wondered but felt his sleeve being pulled.

"Please," her big brown eyes pleaded and the other children followed suit.

"You want a plum blossom?" He questioned and her head nodded while the other children said they also wanted one too.

'How… do I make it?' He smiled nervously and felt Wang Li wrap his arms around him from behind.

"Ah Li?" He questioned with those strong hands wrapped around his.

"Just focus on what a plum blossom looks like," he heard the soft words against his ear as his hands were maneuvered: one faced up and the other closed with a finger over his open palm, "Move your spiritual energy to the tip of your fingers and draw it out."

He watched as the petals were created with the movement of his finger. He was in awe of what he was making and felt the grin splitting his face. Once he was finished, he handed it to the child who squealed happily. He tried on his own and although some petals were too long or short, he was able to complete one for all the children.

"Thank you, Sir Yue, my king!" They all shouted happily and ran off.

The sound of music floated through the village and he looked around. The villagers all headed to the lake and Wang Li interlocked their fingers. Joining them, he could hear they were getting closer to the sound of music notes. When they arrived, he was pulled over to sit at a bench as everyone settled down before the four musicians. His eyes glanced to see Snow surrounded by the village children, running small hands through his fur.

'Lucky you,' he smiled.

A moon cake was held out for him and he thanked his lover, laughing as he saw a third cake in between his husband's teeth.

"You really do love sweets, don't you Ah Li?"

Wang Li smirked and leaned over to whisper, "Yes, but you are the sweet I craved the most."

He flushed and felt hot. He covered his lover's lips and pushed his husband away from him, feeling suffocated by his love. He heard a chuckle from Wang Li and he pushed him harder with a grin.

Ying Yue's eyes returned to watch the twins who started playing to a nice calming tune. He looked up at Wang Li and found his face reddening. Looking away, he bit his bottom lip worriedly.

'I… I don't know if I am ready to play it for him…,' he leaned his head against his lover's shoulder, 'What if he doesn't like it? What if I mess up?'

Upset with himself, he shook his head and started making more golden blossoms. By the time Hien and Chu were finished, he had made over 20 blossoms.

"Ah Li," he whispered, "May I?"

Wang Li looked over at his wife and saw all the blossoms he had made. Green eyes were looking at his hair and he found himself laughing. Nodding, he moved to sit before the blonde and watched as Shen began plucking the pipa. Closing his eyes, he let the plucking sound resonated in the air, and felt every vibration of the strings. Thin fingers placed golden blossoms in his hair, tucked into his braids.

"Wang Li," his wife wrapped his arms around his neck from behind, "I have… a gift for you too."

"Hm," he kissed the blonde's hand, "Besides your body?"

His mouth was covered by his lover's hand and he could imagine the flush covering those pretty freckled cheeks. He opened his mouth and licked the palm over his lips, causing the blonde to pull his hands away. He turned his silver eyes to see his wife's face dusted in red. Emerald eyes stared at him from lowered lashes and he reached his hand out to touch the heated face.

"I… can I give you the gift now?" Ying Yue questioned shyly.