章節 31: Chapter 31 : Visiting in-laws' house
Tomorrow is the starting of the weekend and Xiu Ying already packed his clothes to stay three days two nights at his parents' house. But while packing, he keeps scrunching his nose and pouting.
Meanwhile, the emperor is having fun watching Xiu Ying throwing a tantrum while he packs his clothes too. With light steps, slowly he approached the latter who is back facing him.
Xiu Ying flinches when a pair of arms crawling on his waist. "Do you really hate the idea of me going back to your family's home?" He asked with a deep voice.
Xiu Ying freezes and blinks his eyes repeatedly. "Well...not really...it's just-"
"Just what? Hmn..?" Zhang Wei tilts his head and leans on Xiu Ying's shoulder.
"People will talk about it. Going to a consort's family house... it will look li- like..."
"Like what? Like I'm sending a hand in marriage?"
Xiu Ying hesitantly nods.
Zhang Wei chuckles. "Told you before, let them think so. Sooner or later that's what I'm going to do it. So why would you be so worried about that?"
Xiu Ying tilts his head to look at Zhang Wei's face. He scoffs, "Confident, aren't you, Your Majesty?"
Zhang Wei smirks and wiggles his eyebrows. Xiu Ying rolls his eyes and removes the naughty arms that keep caressing his tummy. Then, he continues packing.
"I need to go and meet Fei Hong for a while," Xiu Ying just hums.
Zhang Wei approached Xiu Ying again. With his figure towering Xiu Ying, he had to bend his body to steal a kiss on the cheek. "Be right back." With that, he walks out of the room like he did nothing.
Xiu Ying shot a glare at the receding figure while cupping his cheek. His heart feels mad but his reddened face totally betrayed his faked anger.
Xiu Ying and Zhang Wei going to the Li Mansion using a big but simple carriage. As Xiu Ying asked, they don't want to alert more people.
An emperor going out of the palace is already a big deal but an emperor going to a consort's house is a bigger problem. Only Jing Yi and a few and guards tag along. The fewer people the less suspicious they'll look. The passerby will think inside the carriage is just another rich family and not some royalty.
Along the journey, Xiu Ying slightly lifts the curtain and keeps his eyes out of the window. Meanwhile, the other person inside the carriage is using this time to keep on admiring the gorgeous view beside him.
Xiu Ying wears a plain inner robe with a light mint on the outside. His hair tied in a ponytail, swaying left and right as the carriage moving. The silky and smooth hair fluttering as the wind blew and hits it. Zhang Wei's hand feels the itch to touch it.
Slowly he raises his hand, not to startle the other person in his daydreaming. When Zhang Wei's fingers touched the thin lock of hair and tuck it behind the ear, Xiu Ying flinched. Slowly he turns to look at the emperor. He frowns.
Seeing the scrunched-up face, Zhang Wei can't help but chuckles and it gains another glare.
"Seriously, your expression is always so cute." When the words were spoken, Xiu Ying quickly turns his head, hiding the flushed face.
After the two hours journey, they finally reached Li Mansion. Li Shizen and Madam Feng already waited at the front door. They can't help but feel nervous with the presence of the country's monarch.
Zhang Wei gets off of the carriage first then he holds out his hand to help Xiu Ying. The latter got no choice but to take it. If not, his mother gonna nags at him for the whole day.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Li Shizen said followed by Madam Feng and Li Mansion's servants.
"Rise," said Zhang Wei and his hand still holding Xiu Ying's.
"Welcome to our humble house, Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty can forgive us for any lackness in our hospitality." Li Shizen said.
"No worries. Zhen even used to sleep on the ground and in the woods during the war. Zhen is not that petty to choose to sleep on a big and comfy bed." He smiles faintly.
And sometimes, he glances at Madam Feng while he spoke. Now he knows, where Xiu Ying got his beauty from. Madam Feng looking so beautiful and young despite her age. It was like her face froze when she was 30s.
"Your Majesty, please come in." Madam Feng invites.
Zhang Wei and Xiu Ying walk in the front with Xiu Ying's parents followed behind. Li Shizen and Madam Feng look at each other when they noticed the two hands interlocked tightly. Li Shizen raises one of his eyebrows, looking suspiciously. Meanwhile, Madam Feng covering her big smile with her palm.
"Ying-er, show Your Majesty to your room. Mom is going to prepare lunch." Madam Feng said to Xiu Ying.
Xiu Ying's eyes widen. His eyes and eyebrows wiggling sending a message to her mom 'What do you mean my room?! Shouldn't he sleep in the guest room?!'
The eye competition going on between the mother and son. Li Shizen can only sigh and shakes his head. While Zhang Wei looks at them with the expression 'What? What happened?'
Madam Feng lightly hits Xiu Ying's arm. The latter lowers his head and stomping his feet while heading to his room.
"Your Majesty, forgive my son's behavior. He's still young and quite childish sometimes." Madam Feng lowers her head.
"It's okay. Zhen is used to it. It is his cute side so Zhen doesn't really mind."
Both of them look at Xiu Ying who is slowly walking away.
"By the way, Madam Feng, when I'm here, you can just call me Zhang Wei. It's okay to do so. Since we're out of the palace, just treat me like everyone else. No need to bother with the formality. And one more thing, can I call you mother?" He sheepishly smiles.
Madam Feng and Li Shizen gaped. Madam Feng puts her hand over her mouth and if it's Korean drama, her face is like saying, "Omo...omo...omo..."
"But... Your Majes-" Li Shizen's words were cut off.
"It's...Zhang Wei, father." He smiles even wider, making the older man's face distorted.
Madam Feng who barely holds her smiles and laughs quickly intervenes, "Alright ZHANG WEI, quickly go after Ying-er. You'll stay together in his room." Madam Feng spreads out her right arm, pointing at where Xiu Ying went.
"Alright. Thank you, mother," Zhang Wei nods and quickly runs after Xiu Ying.
As soon as Zhang Wei left, Madam Feng keeps hitting her husband's arm. She's squealing. "Oh my God! Husband, did you see that? Your Majesty wants us to call him by his name and he even called me mom! Oh my God!"
Li Shizen rolls his eyes. "I thought you want to prepare lunch for your son, ZHANG WEI?" He said sarcastically but Madam Feng didn't even notice his sarcasm.
"Oh! You're right. Alright. Gotta make a lot of delicious food!" She rolls her sleeves while strutting to the kitchen. Li Shizen facepalmed.
In the meantime, Xiu Ying leads Zhang Wei to his room. No matter how fast he walks, the emperor's long legs can catch up in a second.
Zhang Wei scans the room. It is smaller than his bedchamber but still quite big. It was neat and tidy. Not too much decoration and furniture. Even on the dressing table, there are only a mirror, a comb and a few hairpins.
"Sorry, Your Majesty. As you can see, my room is small so you might feel uncomfortable. I'll ask my mom to arrange another room for you."
Zhang Wei leisurely walks to the bed and takes a seat beside Xiu Ying. Xiu Ying quickly creates a distance between them but the emperor won't give up and keeps moving until their arms touched.
"See? If it's cramped, we can stay close to each other." Zhang Wei smirks.
Xiu Ying rises from the bed and about to leave the room but he was pulled back and lands on Zhang Wei's lap. He struggles to release himself from the tight embrace but it was futile. No matter how good he is in taekwondo, he can never win against the emperor's strength. He huffs and looks away.
"Ying..er..." Zhang Wei calls, making Xiu Ying turns to him immediately and glares.
"Since we're outside, I can call you like that right? You too can call me Zhang Wei or Wei-gege or Wei-er or... husband."
Xiu Ying scoffs. "Outside or not, that doesn't change your position, YOUR MAJESTY. Now, can Your Majesty let me go?" He continues wiggling.
Zhang Wei tightens his hug. "Nope. Not until you call me Wei-er."
Xiu Ying heavily sighs. "Stop playing around, Your Majesty."
"Who said I'm playing around?" His voice turns serious. Even his expression didn't show any hint of joking or playfulness.
Zhang Wei hides his face on Xiu Ying's nape. With a dejected voice, he said, "Ying-er... I know you've started to soften your heart and lowering your guard around me. Can't you just stop forcing yourself to push me away? If you really hate or disgust me, you won't blush when I touched you or stay near you. You clearly being alert and nervous when I'm around. Your lips might say no but your face tells the opposite thing. If only you can see your own face whenever you saw me."
Xiu Ying's eyelids tremble. He blinks repeatedly. Loss for words.
"Ying- " Their conversation was stopped by the knocks.
"Your Majesty, Young Master, lunch is almost ready and Master and Madam invited to the dining hall. " The servant said from behind the closed door. She feels inappropriate to enter the room where the emperor and the consort reside.
"Alright. Tell mom and dad we'll be coming in a while," Xiu Ying answered.
The moment that was disrupted makes Zhang Wei lost in his thoughts, thus Xiu Ying takes this chance to release himself. He tidied his robes.
"Let's go Your Majesty. My parents must be waiting." Xiu Ying said.
The emperor looks at Xiu Ying who looks undisturbed with the previous conversation lowers his head dejectedly. He rises from the bed, tidied his robes and walks past Xiu Ying... saying nothing.
Feeling like a gush of cold wind passed by. Xiu Ying felt a pang in his heart but he quickly ignores those feelings.
Usually, when Xiu Ying walks behind him, Zhang Wei will pull him to walk side-to-side but now, Zhang Wei keeps walking forward and didn't even notice that Xiu Ying was left a bit far behind.
When they reach the dining hall, Zhang Wei wears a cheerful wide smile again. However, his attention is fully given to Madam Feng.
Madam Feng also dropped the honorific and talk casually with Zhang Wei. Sitting in between the emperor and his wife, Li Shizen prefers to remain silent and let his wife do the talk. He feels awkward to speak informally to Zhang Wei as he still needs to meet the emperor at the palace as a Prime Minister.
Xiu Ying also eats silently and glancing between his mom and Zhang Wei. He knows his mom already feels comfortable with Zhang Wei and he has no objections against that if the emperor himself insisted his mom call him by the name.
After lunch, Xiu Ying spends time with his mom while Zhang Wei playing chess with Li Shizen. Both of them are quite skillful and no one can predict who will win the game.
"Your Majesty, may I ask something?" Li Shizen breaks the silence.
"Sure. Just ask." Zhang Wei's eyes still on the chessboard.
"Why Your Majesty decided to come here with Xiu Ying? Is this simply a normal visit only or..."
Zhang Wei didn't answer. He moves for another three steps and he won. Then, he leans back on the chair, looking straight at Li Shizen's face.
"I like Xiu Ying and I wish to make him my empress." He said seriously.
From the way he treated Xiu Ying and he even dares to come to Li Mansion, Li Shizen already expected that the emperor harbor some feelings towards Xiu Ying but when Zhang Wei mentioned he wanted to make Xiu Ying the empress, he can't help but feel shocked.
"I know, Lord Li must feel like I was lying or talking rubbish," He chuckles. "But trust me. I seriously like Xiu Ying and day by day I keep falling for him more. I hoped to make him my empress and if he agreed, I'll immediately dismiss my imperial harem."
Li Shizen doesn't know what to say. He feels happy the emperor seriously liking his son but he knows, being an empress is not easy. With the enemy everywhere, he can't live peacefully as he is now. Li Shizen also worried about Xiu Ying's safety. Up to him, he only wished Xiu Ying to marry into a normal household and live happily with his husband. He doesn't want his son to live on alert every second. As a prime minister himself, he knows how wicked the palace is.
Zhang Wei chuckles. "Don't worry Lord Li. Xiu Ying being an empress won't be so soon or... never happen at all. He never sees me the same way how I always see him."
A trace of sympathy Li Shizen feels towards the emperor. If the people know their cold, strict and mighty emperor looks like a lost puppy just because he was rejected by a ger, they might vomit a mouthful of blood.
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