Golden Stage Chapter 41

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Yan Xiaohan stood quietly holding him for a spell, both wanting to give him something to rely on and fearing that he was too sorrowful. Hence, he patted Fu Shen on the shoulder and deliberately poked fun at him. "Are you crying, Marquis? Want me to sweet-talk you?"

Fu Shen would never indulge himself to wallow in melancholy for too long, of course. It was merely that he rarely had a moment that he could hang onto someone else, and he was a bit unwilling to get up for a time. "Go over there. Is there wine in this place? Have a couple of drinks with me," he said, voice m.u.f.fled.

That tone of his wasn't like that of a married couple inviting each other to drink together, but an old grandpa calling out to his son to come entertain him. Yan Xiaohan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Right as he was about to blurt out "you can't drink alcohol", he spontaneously had second thoughts; if the other could drink the pain away, it would give him a chance to vent to his heart's content, and that'd be better overall than stuffing everything up into his heart like he was doing now.

"There is," he replied frankly. "Wait a moment, I'll have someone fetch it."

Fu Shen raised his head in astonishment. "Did you take the wrong meds? You said okay!"

Yan Xiaohan raised a brow, stooping down close to interrogate him. "Are you saying I never did so before? Reach into your conscience and tell me; what have you requested of me that I hadn't agreed to?"

His tall figure gradually closed in on him, yet didn't give off an oppressive vibe. Fu Shen extended one finder to press against the other's chest, smiling lightly. "I thought I'd have to give a little something to get a sip of alcohol. Since you're being so thoughtful and considerate, this couldn't be any better."

"What something?" Yan Xiaohan didn't overlook asking.

Fu Shen only smiled wordlessly.

"Not making good on a good deed doesn't seem like what n.o.bleman would do, Marquis."

"What do you want, then?" Fu Shen countered.

"I'm so thoughtful, and so take-charge." He pointedly nudged Fu Shen's leg with his kneecap. "Shouldn't that give me something even sweeter?"

Fu Shen's line of sight moved briefly to his lower abdomen, and he grinned with ill intent. "Yo, spring's here."

Yan Xiaohan felt no shame, but rather pride, all the more wis.h.i.+ng for more when he was given a little. He stuck close and whispered something into the other's ear, causing Fu Shen to laugh in mockery. "Come here. I'll just take a look at whether your third leg is as hard as your bones — just give the word. You're not allowed to cry when it breaks."

Yan Xiaohan: "……"

"Tsk. A cad's heart but not his guts, yet you constantly keep this on your mind." Fu Shen reached out and grabbed his chin, kissing him on the lips. "It'd be better for you be good and lie down flat," he said lazily. "This Lord* will make sure you hit rapture, and that you'll be wanting for more later. How about it?"

"My Lord."

Men's voices were deep and low, not as sweet and delicate as women's, but what's coming out of his mouth had a special sort of soul-snaring tinge. Yan Xiaohan had light deep in his eyes, maintaining his prurient posture as he spoke gently. "In any case, I have three legs, and your third leg is the only one you have left…"

The pleasant atmosphere vanished like smoke in the air. Fu Shen couldn't stand this and nearly thrashed him, but Yan Xiaohan took advantage of his lack of guard to switch from the pa.s.sive to the active party, pressing the other man into the back of his chair and kissing him firmly.

Only when the very long kiss was over did Fu Shen lower his head and gasp for air, using a very soft voice to say, "I want you, but not right now."

That gentle, restrained mask of Yan Xiaohan's finally seemed to have burst open at a corner, revealing the fanged, clawed l.u.s.t possessed within; it wasn't a pretty craving, but it was still his truest look.

Fu Shen's chest continuously heaved, legs gone hatefully soft where he sat. He thought to himself: whatever it is you want, a cad's heart never dies, and sooner or later there'd be a day you'd cry and say you don't want it.

Yet, his mouth went: "Okay okay okay, it's all yours… get up now, dear gege, you're crus.h.i.+ng me to death."

Yan Xiaohan realized that every time Fu Shen got embarra.s.sed, he would find all sorts of excuses to drive him away. This tiny discovery ineffably pleased him; he thereupon released the man, fully content, and went out to get the wine for him.

Fu Shen listened to his brisk footsteps getting farther away, lifted a hand to feel at his scorchingly sore lips, and subconsciously smiled.

He was quite a reliable person in himself, only ever giving other people comfort. This was the first time he had turned into the party taking in a sense of security, and he found that having someone he could rely on was a feeling that was wonderful and difficult to describe. Leaving aside that he's presently feigning lameness, even if his injuries had actually already healed, he still shouldn't bear too great a burden in this brief interim… but two virile, grown men were being sweet on each other all day long, so close their temples rubbed together, and reacting to that was inevitable; would they have to endure 'treating each other like an honored guest' like this for two or three more years?

Thinking of it like this, allowing him a smidge didn't seem to be an impossibility…

When Yan Xiaohan gave Fu Shen his drink, the latter got the feeling that he had a certain sort of profound meaning as he looked into Fu Shen's eyes, as if he had found money when he was on a walk and was now presenting it to him.

The liquor was sweet yet not strong, fragrant and pleasant. Fu Shen downed his cup all at once, praising it as 'good wine'. "This is wine that's usually hard to come by. Mister Yan is an official… that doesn't normally neglect to accept filial gifts from those below him, right?"

To facilitate relations.h.i.+ps, bribery was a common event on all levels of officialdom, and that's saying nothing about the cla.s.s of heavyweight office the Flying Dragon Guard had. Yan Xiaohan neither avoided the subject or confirmed it, only replying, "When giving a filial gift to the Marquis, how could I dare to use ordinary spirits? I'd have to pick the best, of course."

Fu Shen cast a pine nut into his mouth. "This wine isn't bad, but it's not number one," he brought out suddenly.

Yan Xiaohan didn't have a cloud-reaching heroic aura like he did, merely drinking slowly. "I'd like to hear more on that."

Fu Shen gave him a side glance with a skin-deep smile. "The best wine I ever drank was in a small town on the border of Northern Yan. It was pretty strong, and the proprietress was great."

Yan Xiaohan's tail had been stepped on, as predicted. "Was it her or the drink that ended up being good?" he said sourly.

His att.i.tude seemed to be saying 'you dared to go outside the walls and experiment a bit right in front of my face'.

"Old wine and an old friend, past events brought up again. Wine doesn't intoxicate someone already drunk."

Yan Xiaohan immediately wanted to change this subject. "You had a past event with her?"

He hadn't been entertaining the possibility that Fu Shen had run into Cai Yue at all. In a vast sea of people, how could two who had different paths ahead of them meet again so easily? He had never felt maligned about the whole thing; in his mind, even if Cai Yue was ultimately set free, his crime had already been committed. He had broken things off with Fu Shen, and no matter how he remedied it, he wouldn't be able to pretend that knife in the back had never existed.

Fu Shen noticed the other man's lack of comprehension, but he didn't clarify for him. He was being a bit devious about this, as if he had latched onto Yan Xiaohan's Achilles' heel of his secret crush on him and couldn't help but always tentatively sound him out, looking forward to the expression he'd have after the matter was laid bare as well as wanting to make him admit to it with his own mouth.

"I'm teasing. I have so many past events; are any of them missing you?" Fu Shen pinched his cheek like a pervert. "Not a one. You're always there."

Yan Xiaohan knew full well that his sugary words weren't to be counted on, but he still automatically went along the grain and was beguiled into docility.

Their two cups made a ringing sound as they met, and Fu Shen drained his in one gulp. Yan Xiaohan took this time to promptly refill it for him. "Ease up a bit. Alcohol is better when you don't drink it like that."

"Don't worry. This Marquis has high alcohol tolerance," Fu Shen responded carelessly. "If you're afraid that I'm going to drink too much and bother you, I'll go into the guest room to sleep tonight."

"Do you not feel guilty saying those words, Marquis?" Yan Xiaohan asked frigidly. "From the first day you arrived until now, when have you ever been made to go into the guest room?"

"…You're too diligent," Fu Shen said with embarra.s.sment.

"Hmph."

"It's true that the bigger a child gets, the harder it is to control them." Fu Shen sighed dramatically. "You said something about ‘liking me most' before, and now you know how to humph."

Yan Xiaohan instantly deflated.

The two had enough of their childish back-and-forth. Taking advantage of the time when the wine's effect had not yet gotten to their heads, where they were tipsy yet especially clear-headed, they brought forth the matter of Priest Chunyang.

"I still want to go track this down. I don't feel at ease with the person behind him not caught," Fu Shen said. "It's not just because of the thing with my uncle. He didn't succeed at the a.s.sa.s.sination the first time, so he might try it again. There's whitedew, too; if it's not contained, it's going to lead to disaster sooner or later."

"If he wasn't in that seat, you wouldn't be trapped in the capital."

"Anyone in it would be leery of me. It's the same for you. That's not the crux of the problem; what is is that every single prince is hardly suitable for the major responsibility. Don't forget that our old next-door neighbor has their eyes fixed on us. The Emperor is suspicious and gravely ill, but he's always had an unyielding att.i.tude regarding the borders, and only he can suppress the neighboring countries on all four sides.
Not counting the Crown Prince, the Princes of Jin and Qi are both closest to literary officials. Think about it. Of the Generals on the four fronts, the Five Great Battalions of the capital, and your Imperial Guard, which of those isn't firmly in the Emperor's grasp?
Once the position of Emperor alternates, no matter who ends up taking it, it'd be impossible for them to get the majority favor of the Court's members in a short amount of time. It's hard to say that outside clans wouldn't take advantage of the vacancy to come in, and when that time comes, the Northern Yan Iron Cavalry will bear the brunt of it. Who could I find to talk reason with?"

Yan Xiaohan also thought it over. "Now that Chunyang's dead, which direction are you planning to investigate in?"

"Southwest." Fu Shen took a sip of wine. "I said before that Chunyang's manner of conduct was like that of my late father's old underlings. Of those who fought alongside him and my uncle in the campaign at Northern Xinjiang back in the day, the only remaining high-ranking officer currently alive and well in the world is the County Prince of Xiping."

"Duan Guihong?"

"Mhm. The only County Prince of the present dynasty that doesn't share a surname. When Xinjiang was pacified in the second year of Yuantai, he was also in my grandfather's troops. He was later transferred to the Southwest and has been guarding it for a decade. I've heard that he had a rather deep friends.h.i.+p with my father and uncle, and might still have a recollection of things from back then."

"You said earlier that Priest Chunyang was just a p.a.w.n in a game. The County Prince is far off in the Southwest, so it stands to reason that it'd be very difficult for the scope of his influence to successfully operate in the capital. This matter ought to have no relation to him."

Fu Shen sighed. "If I knew who was related to it, would I still be needing to drown my sorrows in alcohol here? Aside from him, I can't think of anyone who'd care so much about something related to the Northern Yan Cavalry for the time being. You should reflect on it, too. If the source of whitedew isn't discovered, how will your Flying Dragon Guard suffer?"

Yan Xiaohan detected that the other was showing some signs of drunkenness — because he was starting to lack reason. He put down his cup and took the wine pot, intending on calling it a day and having Fu Shen wash up and go to bed.

Who could have known that when he reached out and touched it, it'd actually be empty!

While they were talking, Yan Xiaohan hadn't been paying paying attention to the frequency of his toasts. Fu Shen had drank up most of the pot without a single word.

His scalp went numb, secretly praying that Fu Shen's drunken state was a bit on the better side and he wouldn't by any means avail himself of the intoxication to go nuts. It's not that he's terrified of him, but if Fu Shen actually started a fight, he genuinely wouldn't be able to beat him.

The liquor's strength surged upwards, muddling the brain. Fu Shen's eyes were half-lidded as he calmly allowed Yan Xiaohan to bathe and change his clothes for him. All the way until getting onto the bed, he displayed total obedience and pliability.

Yan Xiaohan's heart gradually calmed. As he sighed in relief, he simultaneously felt that there not being a segment in the chain for 'drunken s.e.x' was a bit unexciting.

Before he could finish his thoughts, the drunkard suddenly said something at a low volume. Yan Xiaohan hadn't heard it clearly, so he leaned over to ask, "Wh—"

With a bang, the world spun.

By the time he returned to his senses, Fu Shen had since been pressing him onto the inner side of the bed. The one on top of him had both arms propped up on either side of his head, gazing down on him from high above. "Throwing yourself at me, hm?"

Yan Xiaohan hurriedly went to embrace him by the waist. "Careful with your legs! Don't kneel, get down!"

His arms reined Fu Shen in, who went from kneeling to lying face-down and face-planting into the hollow of the other's neck. He still refused to give up, however, and insisted on getting up to look at his face.

"Jingyuan, don't make trouble…" Yan Xiaohan said with exasperation.

"Han."

He paused for a split second, believing himself to have misheard. "What did you call me?" he asked incredulously.

"Han." Fu Shen tenderly kissed the tip of his nose, then moved to the corner of his lips. "Han…"

Those words were more effective than strong liquor, as all Yan Xiaohan could feel was his entire body about to heat up.

Unexpectedly, Fu Shen had another sentence to say, and though it was vague and hoa.r.s.e, his voice was permeated with tender affection. "…Don't move, be good. Gege loves you a lot."

The translator says: RIP Yan Xiaohan, he is 100% dead.
Duan Guihong shares a surname with Duan Linglong, Is it a coincidence? hmmm.jpg

*大爷 – daye, the specific term used here. It's similar to daren where it's a respectful term, though with a more respectful implication, and meant for older men. Common translations are, uh… “uncle”, “grandpa”, and “elder”. Yeah, no thanks.