Chasing You (Arcs 1-7)

My Dear Emperor (XVI)

Once he had gotten back from the stage, he received the update from Bao Bao.

<Host, It's all in order!>

His transparent body was floating towards Xu XiuLan. Xu XiuLan smiled and followed Bao Bao's direction. Making sure that no one was within sight, Bao Bao notified his host and he changed his clothes and wore his green garbs. Where he was headed to was a rest house on the outer ring of the plum blossom valley. He navigated through the path that was barren and deserted. Xu XiuLan had deliberately taken this route in search of someone.

<Host~ They are within reach.>

Bao Bao whispered with caution and felt irked when he saw 'it'. He scuttled quite a distance from the area after informing his baby, but not too far where he couldn't observe what was going. If they tried to jump his host too, he had come prepared this time and had a huge spiked hammer from the store. He would pummel them a meat patty. Xu XiuLan 'accidentally' bumped into a person and took a couple of steps back because of how sturdy the other person was. He immediately got onto his knees and kowtowed, "Please forgive this servant! This servant did not mean to do so."

The person turned around, he looked at Xu XiuLan who was kowtowing. His eyes held no emotion looking at them, "Stand up."

Wu QingJue was currently still searching for an elusive eunuch, but could not see a wisp of  their shadow anywhere. He was vexed that he had been too impatient and prudent and let his emotions and urges get the better of him. When he had first spotted that person, Wu QingJue was ecstatic that they were here and sought to find his benefactor, only to come up empty. He felt crestfallen at the results of quest to find them. Wu QingJue had combed through the weeds in search for them but it bore no fruit. He hadn't just started searching for him here, he had long turned over the heavens in their hunt for them for could be considered to be millennia. The frenziness accumulated in him and like a beast it was locked down deep inside of him.

Though he hadn't given up, he had assumed that the other would've ran off to somewhere unreachable by now. It caught him by surprise at other's arrival here at the banquet and had caused a stir in his emotions and they become volatile for a brief moment, he had lost control. He hadn't meant to force upon those kisses... Now they had slipped away from his grasp.

Just as Wu QingJue was about to dismiss him, he spots something and smiles. Wu QingJue, "I, this general wants to know why you are such a rush?"

He was planning on stalling time as he could clearly see the worry and protectiveness. Was this their benefactor? His mind starting devising a plan on how to draw in the elf.

Xu XiuLan rose to his feet but kept his head bowed, "This servant is looking for young master Zuo."

Wu QingJue, "Young master Zuo?"

Xu XiuLan took out a small bundle from his clothes, "You see this servant was intrigued by his grace and has come to search for him for my master."

Wu QingJue, "Your master?"

Xu XiuLan bowed his head lower, "Yes, my master. Master Su."

Wu QingJue wrinkled his brows as he repeated the name, "Su Ru."

Su Ru was the minister of justice but his position had recently become shaky and his relationship with the emperor had cracked. Tu HuaLi had received some news from his dragon guard about some disturbing information that was spreading from the suburbs. To find out the credibility of those words and to quell ever worried citizens, he issued an order for an investigation to be conducted secretly. If things turned out to be true, he did not want to startle the snake in the grass¹. He placed Wu QingJue as the investigator in this matter. Sticking just a finger into the waters, Wu QingJue found his finger to be covered in excretion already.

He looked at the young man before him, "Lift your veil."

Xu XiuLan did as he was told and opened his veil to reveal a stunning face. The general was shocked for a breath of time² and quickly recovered. He shook his head inwardly, this person fits Su Ru's preference completely. He thought about what the lad had just said. It seemed like their lascivious hand was going to capture another poor sheep. Wu QingJue, "No need. You may return to your master."

Xu XiuLan hesitated a second before he turned around. He counted the steps he took, before he was stopped. There was a faint

"Wait. Where is your master?"

Xu XiuLan turned back around, "To say, my master... My master is already with young master Zuo..."

Wu QingJue's face darkens, "Take me there."

Xu XiuLan bowed and led the way. They walked about four zhang³ before they arrived outside of a small rest house. Wu QingJue's eyebrow twitched at hearing the malodorous sounds coming from the house.

"Ah, ah, ah~! I'm coming~"

"Ngh, you're tightening up on me. You're that hungry? We've already done it four times already."

"Mmh, give me more~"

Anyone else's face would've flushed red from embarrassment at hearing the vulgar moans. Wu QingJue's face darkens and he turns to the 'servant' of Su Ru. He furrowed his brows as the spot besides him was empty. He veered his head as he searched for them, but could not find that green figure anywhere. Before he could do anything, he spotted an entourage coming in his direction. He cupped his hand and greeted, "Long live the emperor!."

Tu HuaLi motioned for him to stop, "Did you see someone in a white robe come he-"

His voice faltered at the end due to the sudden high pitched moan, "Aah~ So good!"

Tu HuaLi's and Tu HeJian's face turned black and the eunuchs that followed all either turned pale white from mortification, green with disgust, or beet red from awkwardness. Tu HuaLi's voice was extremely cold and his eyes was covered in a layer of frost, "Who?"

Wu QingJue, "Replying to his majesty, this servant does not know. This servant had just arrived here not long before your majesty came."

Tu HuaLi turned to the eunuch, "We want to see who would be so daring to do this. Bring them out for Us."

The eunuchs all obeyed and stormed into the house. They brought out two flushed figures with disheveled hairs, clothes that were in disarray, and both were covered in sweat and the smell of pungent fishiness. The moment their eyes laid on Tu HuaLi, their eyes open wide with apprehension. They both got on their knees and smacked their forehead onto the ground, ""Please forgive us, your majesty!""

They repeatedly knocked their head onto the ground as their body shook in fear. Tu HuaLi looked at them in disgust, "You two must have enjoyed your time well? We were wondering where you had gone to, minister Su and young master Zuo."

Their faces paled at those words as it was like a seal on their fate. Tu HuaLi turned his head away in revulsion, "Take them away. Since they want to be together so bad, let Us grant them their wish. Prepare a decree for minister Su to wed young master Zuo three weeks from now, and demote minister Su to commoner. We have seen that he has put enough effort and need time to rest. He and his family is to be exiled to the waste lands in the south and enjoy their stay there."

Zuo NaLi shook his head and pleaded out, "Please have mercy, your majesty! Please have mercy!"

This was a mistake... He hadn't planned on giving up his chastity until he achieved vengeance, but earlier the fire in his navel was too strong and it broke out. In a fit of overwhelming lust, Zuo NaLi had somehow found minister Su and had him help him alleviate the aching pain. He wasn't even sober until he was dragged away, but by then it was too late to regret anything.

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¹Startle the snake in the grass: Idiom meaning, 'inadvertently alerting the enemy'.

²A breath of time: Idiom used for a measurement of time,'1-3 seconds'.

³Zhang: A chinese unit in measurement (distance), 1 zhang = 3 ⅓ meters.