Accidentally Having a Baby with the Future Emperor - Chapter 29

In truth, Gu Rong had been quite pleased with the long discussion they’d had during the day.

It wasn’t that the content of their talk was particularly profound or entertaining, but because they could sit face to face like ordinary close friends, discussing books and classics openly and without distraction or awkwardness. That alone meant the absurd incident from that night could truly be put behind them.

The other party was clearly well-read, so how could he not have encountered a foundational Daoist text like the Tao Te Jing before? Most likely, he’d used the excuse of discussing it to smooth over the awkwardness between them. That would certainly align with his usual thoughtful and considerate nature.

As it turned out, the method had been extremely effective; successful even.

At the very least, after their exchange, Gu Rong truly felt at ease. He no longer felt ashamed or humiliated. Even when looking directly at Xi Rong’s face, he no longer found his mind straying to any of those chaotic, inappropriate, and absurd images.

Thus, although it was physically tiring to maintain the upright posture required out of respect for his companion, Gu Rong had endured it tenaciously.

Who would’ve thought the trouble would come not during, but when getting up afterward, because of that very same embarrassing cause he thought he’d already forgotten?

How strange.

He was usually in excellent health, and yet this time… an entire day had passed and he still hadn’t fully recovered.

It had just been one hour of rolling around, hadn’t it?

Luckily, his movements were subtle enough that Xi Rong probably hadn’t noticed.

“Is something wrong? Not coming to bed?” Xi Rong, seemingly having noticed something, suddenly turned and asked.

“…Nothing,” Gu Rong replied quickly. “I’m coming right now.”

Feigning calm, he busied himself tidying the books, heart steady, face composed. After pausing for a few moments, he braced a hand on the straw mat, intending to use it for leverage to stand. But as soon as his lower leg lifted, the light dimmed. A shadow fell over him. An arm slipped smoothly beneath the crook of his knees and he was effortlessly scooped up…

…onto a shoulder.

…

In that position, he was practically half-seated on the other man’s arm.

It was slightly better than being held horizontally, but not by much.

Gu Rong’s mind went blank for a second. On instinct, he reached out and clung to the neatly layered collar at Xi Rong’s neck, stabilizing himself so he wouldn’t fall.

That faint scent of mint, mingled with the clean and unfamiliar aroma unique to young men, flooded his senses. Because of how close they were, Gu Rong’s face grew uncontrollably warm.

“Brother, you… really don’t have to…”

The short walk from the wooden hut to the stone cave suddenly felt endless. Face buried against Xi Rong’s shoulder, Gu Rong stammered out a string of nonsense.

He truly had no idea what to say!

Xi Rong’s shoulders were broad and solid, his stride steady and even. Carrying someone as large as Gu Rong with one arm seemed no different from holding a scroll of paper.

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have kept you talking for so long,” Xi Rong said in a calm voice tinged with regret. “I forgot that you weren’t feeling well.”

“…………”

Gu Rong felt even more mortified.

Not feeling well?

What kind of ‘not feeling well’? It couldn’t be more obvious!

Ahhh!

All the progress he’d made after a hard afternoon, all the emotional recovery he’d painstakingly earned with an entire book of Tao Te Jing, was now shattered in an instant!

Mortified beyond belief, Gu Rong flopped face-down onto the stone bed the moment he was gently placed down. Burying his face into the pillow, he very nearly punched the mattress out of frustration.

“Take off your outer robe, or you’ll catch a cold,” Xi Rong said from beside the bed, sounding mildly amused but still gentle.

Gu Rong had no desire to respond. But ignoring him entirely would be too rude, so after some hesitation, he reluctantly sat up, removed his outer robe, and untied his hair ribbon as well.

Xi Rong naturally extended his hands to receive them. That robe, still faintly warm and carrying a light scent of herbal medicine, was folded neatly along with the hair ribbon and placed on the stone table.

“Ahem, thank you just now for your help, brother,” Gu Rong cleared his throat and offered his thanks seriously, doing his best to appear serene and composed, without a single stray thought.

Xi Rong’s expression remained solemn. “No need to thank me. This matter, at its root, is still my fault.”

“…”

Gu Rong had known it. Once that topic came up, there would be no getting around it.

“Ahem, it has nothing to do with you, brother. I’m just too lazy. Sitting for a bit too long and I couldn’t take it anymore,” he forced himself to say, and then, not waiting for Xi Rong to continue, quickly lay back down and flopped onto the pillow, playing dead.

Xi Rong’s gaze lingered for a moment on that graceful, rising curve of Gu Rong’s waist. The corners of his thin lips lifted almost imperceptibly. Without saying anything more, he removed his outer robe, black crown, boots, and socks, and climbed into bed.

“Is it still uncomfortable?” he asked.

Gu Rong, focused intently on feigning death: “…”

He really was uncomfortable. Sitting upright had been bearable, but now that he was lying down, the indescribable soreness returned in full force. Only by lying face-down could he relieve it a little.

But of course he couldn’t admit that.

He planned to secretly massage himself once the lamp was extinguished. After all, massaging his lower back in front of a guest, especially a guest he’d once rolled around with, was simply too improper.

So he answered lightly, “I’m fine now. Brother, you should go to sleep. Don’t worry about me!”

“Really?”

“Really!”

Gu Rong listened to the rustling sounds from the other side, eyes closed, waiting for Xi Rong to lie down and blow out the lamp. But after a long time, the oil lamp remained lit. Curious, he turned his head and saw that while Xi Rong had gotten into bed, he wasn’t lying down. He was sitting against the headboard, still draped in his dark robe, holding a sutra and reading it with intense focus.

Gu Rong was genuinely shocked.

He couldn’t help blurting out, “Brother, aren’t you tired?”

Although Gu Rong had spent days in the archive halls poring over books to prepare for harsh exams, he had a strict principle and that was to never sacrifice sleep for study. Unless it was an unavoidable emergency, he would never allow books at his bedside after a full day of reading.

He couldn’t fathom how Xi Rong, after an entire day of discussing the Tao Te Jing and all those esoteric Daoist concepts, still had the energy to read a dry Buddhist sutra before bed. And if he wasn’t mistaken, that sutra was one of the books from the stack he’d carried over the night before.

Could it be that his little book-mountain had not only served as a ’Chu River–Han Border’ barrier, but also awakened the other’s reading appetite? |11|

“I heard reading sutras helps calm the mind and spirit, so I thought I’d give it a try. Why? Is it keeping you awake?” Xi Rong looked up and asked.

“No. Take your time reading, brother.”

Gu Rong gave in. He couldn’t exactly tell someone not to be diligent.

As for himself, he’d just secretly massage his back under the blanket. With the book mountain between them and the other focused on spiritual nourishment, he surely wouldn’t notice anything.

Decision made, Gu Rong tugged the blanket over himself, burrowed into it, buried his face in the pillow, and discreetly slid one hand to his waist, beginning to gently knead the sore area.

“Rongrong, are you massaging your waist?” came a sudden voice beside his ear.

Gu Rong: “……!!”

His movements had been so, so tiny, so how had the other noticed?!

“If you’re uncomfortable, why not just tell me the truth?” came a follow-up question.

Before Gu Rong could respond, the blanket was lifted and a familiar, broad hand landed on his side. With slow, steady pressure, it began massaging his lower back.

The hand was dry, lightly calloused, still slightly cool from holding the sutra just moments before. Gu Rong instinctively curled up a little from the chill.

Xi Rong immediately paused. “Did I press too hard?” he asked.

“No.”

Gu Rong buried his face even deeper into the pillow. “Brother, really, you don’t need to trouble yourself. I can just massage it myself.”

Since he’d already been caught, Gu Rong didn’t bother pretending anymore. He really wasn’t used to someone else doing such an intimate thing for him. It’s not like he was injured and needed medicine or bandages. And, after the string of embarrassing incidents tonight, he actually felt a strange kind of calm, like a pig resigned to boiling water.

“No trouble. I’m idle anyway. I happened to learn some massage techniques before. It should work better than doing it yourself.”

At a time like this, Xi Rong didn’t bring up anything else.

Gu Rong had meant to refuse again, but ultimately chose to keep quiet.

Because… the massage really did feel very good.

That steady and patient strength, firm yet gentle, was something he couldn’t replicate on his own. The experience was, in a way, quite novel. No wonder little children, even after a small bump, liked to run to adults and act spoiled.

“We’re a bit far apart, which makes it hard to apply pressure. You wouldn’t mind if I moved these books aside for a bit, would you?”

While Gu Rong’s thoughts were wandering, Xi Rong suddenly spoke again.

Indeed, the small mountain of books between them was quite inconvenient.

Gu Rong nodded and made to help move them.

“No need, I’ll do it.”

Xi Rong pressed him back down. As he shifted the books aside, he added, “Don’t worry. Once we’re done, I’ll put them back exactly as they were.”

“…Then I’ll trouble you, brother,” Gu Rong mumbled vaguely.

Because Xi Rong’s massage was just too comfortable, he quickly fell asleep.

Lowering his gaze, Xi Rong looked at the person who had been pulled over and was now sleeping unconsciously across his lap like a cat, and a touch of softness crept into his eyes.

Of course he knew that his behavior could be considered a little underhanded.

But when he saw Gu Rong earlier, sitting on the straw mat in the courtyard, talking and laughing with Song Yang and Zhou Wenhe, relaxed and cheerful… he couldn’t help but wonder if, in Gu Rong’s eyes, he was no different from the rest.

Just another ‘brother.’

And compared to the others, perhaps he was even more dull and somber.

He very much wanted an answer.

Luckily, the outcome was one he could accept.

Gu Rong had endured his own discomfort to earnestly, attentively discuss the entire Tao Te Jing with him. Clearly, he didn’t mind his presence and hadn’t been alienated by that night.

As for avoiding him… perhaps it was simply shyness, or he was not yet used to such things.

Or maybe, his body simply repulsed him.

After all, Xi Rong was not a true, pampered crown prince. Everything he had was fought for through blade and blood, and his body inevitably bore the marks of that.

At the thought, Xi Rong’s gaze darkened.

The hand resting on that slender waist gently pinched a certain spot, neither hard nor soft, and sure enough, it drew out a muffled little whimper.

He had, of course, never studied massage.

The only reason it felt good… was because he knew every sensitive spot on that body, and could press precisely where it counted.

The sleeping young gentleman’s long, black hair spilled down to his waist, strewn across Xi Rong’s lap in a cool tangle, clinging to his robe and hair. His slender back and the delicate lines of his shoulder blades rose and fell with his breathing, exuding an invisible, forbidden allure, like a seductive spirit lying in wait.

Xi Rong, who had finally managed to calm himself a little with half a night of reading Buddhist sutras, suddenly felt his heart stir restlessly again.

The author has something to say:

Baby Rongrong: We’re seriously just innocently discussing the Tao Te Jing!
Thank you all, enjoy reading!