Liu Sheng was sitting in the sitting tub, warm water filled with some flowers or herbs that made him feel a bit more relaxed, his muscles, which were tired from the fighting and long ride, had been melting away, feeling less and less tense.
Also, his shoulders, carrying the family pride or shame, were now being skillfully pushed and pulled and dug into, sometimes it hurt, yet it was blissful.
"Are you feeling at least a bit better?" Jingting asked. Sheng hesitated a bit but then nodded. He did feel better when being taken care of.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" he asked once more and pressed at the new scar that Sheng had on his body. Jingting was now really familiar with every wound Sheng had on him, and he always felt it was too much. That Sheng was being reckless with his body.
"This was an arrow, right? Actually, I think your doctor is getting better and better at treating you." He smiled.
"Your letters are helping a lot. He said he is ashamed of being taught by the younger generation, but he was gaining a lot of knowledge from you, and it saves lives, so he is fine with it." Jingting just chuckled and continued to massage Sheng's shoulders. Somehow it was calming even Jingting himself. Sure, the heat was spreading throughout their bodies, but none of them acted upon it. They just enjoyed the closeness, the intimacy. Liu Sheng closed his eyes and breathed out.
"It was the anniversary of the late emperor's death. They did a big, you know, ceremony and everything. The prince of Dai was going to bow, offer sacrifices, and light the incense sticks. Everything was okay, but then he turned around to tell everyone to get up when I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye." He stopped talking when Jingting stopped massaging him.
"The water is getting cold. Get out first and then finish it?" he said and held out the cloth for him to get into. It was not winter yet, but here the weather was always cold, and he could get cold too.
Liu Sheng got up, and Wen Jingting was again amazed by his body, by the muscles that he acquired through heavy training. The six pack that got even more pronounced since he last saw him. The chest that was rivaling some women's, and the rest that was proudly hanging down, but somehow, under Jingting's eyes began to move and got bigger.
"Look no more if you don't want to act…" Sheng chuckled and wrapped himself in the clothes given, and then he put on the clothes he left here the last time. Jingting turned round, his face reddening at being caught. Or in his head, it was maybe because of the nonexistent steam and the heat rising from the cold bath.
Jingting called in the servants to bring in the late dinner, but nobody batted an eye when Sheng appeared from the bath, his clothes, and hair wet, and sat next to Jingting. Because nobody should question where and how he got there… and not talking about why the master's face was redder than the wedding brocade of many couples.
At first they were eating in silence. But then Sheng slowed down and started talking once again. Not that he was uncomfortable with silence, he just wanted to say it all before going to bed.
"Well, I just saw someone move, so when I paid attention to that place, I saw him drawing his bow. Before I could act, an arrow swished through the air, so I only stepped in its trajectory. I still have no idea who the target was, but my brother said it was the prince. So I believed him." He put his chopsticks down and leaned back. When he was talking, he was still eating between his words. But now he was obviously finished.
"Well, I ended up saving his life while getting another wound. I was bleeding, shouting out, and charging at the assassin. In the end, we got him… he killed himself. I was thanked by the Prince, and then I was taken home by my brother, and General Zhu followed." Somehow he was displeased with that guy, and Jingting could feel it from the expression Sheng carried when speaking about him.
"You hate him?" he asked while they got up. Jingting took Sheng by his hand and sat him on his bed. Then, without asking or anything, he sat beside him. He felt he should stay close to him. Jingting couldn't say why, but he needed to.
"Oh, boy, hate is not strong enough. I would wish even his ancestors were never born. He is cocky, reckless, and thinks he rules the world and everyone should grovel before him. And the gaze he is staring at me with. And let's not talk about his 'boys' he adopted. He is having a harem of them. It's actually disgusting…" Jingting raised his brows and looked at the two of them, then around them.
"No, I don't mind it's boys. I mind how many of them he is taking to his bed. I would be okay with five, but it's more, many more. And they all bear his surname." Jingting breathed out. It would be a bit weird if Sheng was disgusted by man, hell, someone would call them cut-sleeves just from their closeness.
"Okay, after that what happened?" he smiled and patted Sheng's back. Sheng hugged him out of nowhere, almost tackling him down on the bed. Thankfully, Jingting's core was trained from martial arts and years of collecting flora, so he held steady.
"Later, when I was recuperating, an eunuch from the palace suddenly came with a decree." Jingting held his breath, his heart dropped to the floor.
"I was to follow General Zhu back to the Capital before winter falls and pick up my reward for saving the life of the royal family. I will be stationed as a royal guard before the reward is fully prepared. But it will take a long time before I will be able to come back…" his voice faded into the heavy silence. Only the short breaths that both of them were taking could be heard. Now Jingting understood the hug. He himself buried himself deeper into Sheng's arms. He would miss him. So much.
After a few minutes, Sheng could feel his shoulder getting wet. He did not move or say anything, but his heart sank even more. He never wanted this. Jingting was never supposed to be crying. Not because of him.
His hatred for the imperial family was growing more and more… day by day…