EXTRA 2.3: YanXiao Horseback Riding.

Tian Xiang was puzzled: “Ah? Angry with yourself?”

Xiao YuAn sat up, supported his face with one hand, and sighed: “I’m angry with myself for being so reckless in the past. I didn’t know how much heartache Yan-ge had to go through, when I wasn’t willing to take care of my body and life. But now, I’m feeling the same. When I remembered how many times I ended up injuring myself in the past without the slightest amount of hesitation, I suddenly understood why my Yan-ge would get so moody. Now, I don’t know how to face Yan-ge.”

“Besides….” Xiao YuAn said gloomily: “Even if I know it now, I can’t really guarantee that I won’t repeat the same mistakes in the future. Mountains may be easy to modify, but my nature is hard to change….”

After saying that, Xiao YuAn rubbed his own messy hair in distress and wrapped himself into the quilt again, as if trying to suffocate himself to death.

Tian Xiang was worried that he wouldn’t be able to realize this, but she didn’t expect that Xiao YuAn’s heart would be brighter than anyone else’s. She couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh: “Even though you’re clearly angry with yourself, you still refuse to talk with His Majesty. Such a troublemaker indeed.”

President Xiao made a fuss for three days. The fourth day, the Palace of the Southern Yan Kingdom welcomed the first snowfall of winter.

The night was freezing, and when President Xiao woke up in the middle of the night, with no one around, he couldn’t fall asleep again. He suddenly felt extremely lonely. As he twisted and turned on the bed, he pulled up his clothes, turned over, and sat up.

But then went back into the quilt.

…

Xiao YuAn decided to perform a night attack, and the Imperial Bodyguards guarding the gates of the Imperial bedchamber, who were dozing off, were suddenly frightened to death.

“Shh.” When the Imperial Bodyguard was about to salute Xiao YuAn, he saw Xiao YuAn make a silent gesture, so he quickly quieted down.

Xiao YuAn then quietly walked into the darkness of the bedchamber, but soon found that there was still a candlelight in the inner bedroom.

‘Even though it’s so late, is Yan HeQing still awake?’

Xiao YuAn was wondering about it as he quietly approached the inner bedroom. Suddenly, he heard the soft voice of a woman coming from his and Yan HeQing’s inner bedroom: “Your Majesty, don’t worry too much. It’s getting late, so it’s better for His Majesty to rest.”

Xiao YuAn: “….”

It’s! The! Middle! Of! The! Night!

Xiao YuAn thought for a few seconds, then squatted at the door, cleared his throat, and began to sing faintly: “The snowflakes are floating in the rustling wind of the north, at the vast expanse of the w–1”

Before he could finish singing, the door of the inner bedroom was opened violently.

As Xiao YuAn raised his head, his eyes met with Yan HeQing’s.

Then Xiao YuAn retracted his gaze, crossed over Yan HeQing, and looked inside the inner bedroom.

Sure enough, Tian Xiang was there.

Xiao YuAn then stood up and walked in, pinched Tian Xiang’s face and rubbed her head. Tian Xiang was so confused that she couldn’t speak clearly: “Jun Wang, His Majesty worries about you every day. So he asked me to keep you company in the night so that you could fall asleep, and then come to report how you felt in the day. Don’t pinch me, wuwu.”

“I knew you had rebelled. Go, go, go back to rest. Girls should rest early. Yan-ge and I are going to talk about family matters.”

Tian Xiang quickly excused herself and closed the door behind her.

At that moment, the bedchamber suddenly became quiet. Xiao YuAn breathed a sigh and looked at Yan HeQing.

Yan HeQing stood there, motionless. When Xiao YuAn looked at him, he saw a trace of confusion and helplessness in the depth of Yan HeQing’s eyes.

Xiao YuAn looked at the memorials placed on the low table beside the bed, at the wax twisted down the candlestick, and at the neatly folded bedding. At a single glance, he could see that Yan HeQing had been reading the memorials all this time without resting properly.

Xiao YuAn sighed again.

Yan HeQing clenched his hands at the sides of his body, but couldn’t say anything to excuse himself. He simply carefully looked at Xiao YuAn.

Xiao YuAn sat down on the bed, looked at him, and smiled helplessly: “It’s too cold for me to sleep alone. When I thought of your warmth, I planned a night attack. But it turned out this place is also as cold as ice.”

Yan HeQing thought for a moment and took a few steps forward, only to start to undress him right away.

Xiao YuAn was so frightened by this, that he held Yan HeQing down: “Wh-wha-what? Don’t seduce me like this! This is my night attack.”

Yan HeQing looked at Xiao YuAn and then looked at the bed: “I’ll warm you up.”

Xiao YuAn pressured Yan HeQing to sit on the bed: “Forget it. I’ll warm the bed first, you can finish reading the memorials. Wait, let me look at your wounds first.” Yan HeQing took off his outer garment the moment he heard those words. Although the wound on his right arm was still covered with medicine, Yan HeQing’s recovery power was different from normal people, so a thin scab had already formed.

Xiao YuAn didn’t hide his heartache as he gently stroked the wound with his fingertips.

”
”
Yan HeQing closed his eyes and said: “It’s alright. I’m almost healed.”

Then, he added: “It won’t happen again.”

Xiao YuAn looked up, and with a soft voice, he said: “Yan-ge, I’m not angry with you. I’m angry with myself.”

Yan HeQing: “Hmm?”

Xiao YuAn: “I, I’ve been so reckless in the past, and often got myself hurt. When I jumped off the cliff that time, I didn’t even think about it….”

After a brief pause, Xiao YuAn continued: “When I heard that you got injured while hunting a tiger, for a moment, I was really angry and scared. But then I thought of the many times I did the same thing, making you feel this way…. I just…. feel like I’m really….”

Xiao YuAn was unable to go on, and Yan HeQing kissed him tenderly. After a while, he loosened his grip and looked at the breathless Xiao YuAn: “Xiao YuAn, I love you.”

Yan HeQing hadn’t said these words since he expressed his feelings for him at that time, but now, he was suddenly very affectionate. He was tenderly teasing Xiao YuAn, kissing him deeply until he was breathless: “Yes, yes, I, I know. Right, does your wound still hurt?”

Yan HeQing shook his head: “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Xiao YuAn raised his eyebrows and laughed: “It really doesn’t hurt? If it hurts, I’ll relieve the pain for you.”

Yan HeQing suddenly realized something as his head hurriedly raised to look at him. At some point, the hand around Xiao YuAn’s waist tightened. Xiao YuAn held Yan HeQing’s shoulders, lowered his head, and kissed the wound on his right arm.

Tenderly and devotedly.

”
”
Then he kissed Yan HeQing’s neck, going all the way down to Yan HeQing’s wounded abdomen. If the kisses on the shoulder were with the intention of soothing him, the meaning for the abdomen kisses were unknown. When Yan HeQing saw Xiao YuAn bent down with his head lowered, he felt short of breath.

It’s been a while since the two of them made love. Firstly, because Xiao YuAn got himself bruised while learning horseback, secondly, because Yan HeQing was injured after hunting a tiger. After such a long time, Yan HeQing couldn’t withstand such a seduction. As he pressed Xiao YuAn on the bed, his hands caressed his waist.

“It’ll hurt, I don’t want to hurt you.” Originally, Xiao YuAn had the intention of extinguishing this fire by himself, but he was still concerned about Yan HeQing’s injury, so he carefully protected Yan HeQing’s right arm. Xiao YuAn soon found that it was inconvenient for Yan HeQing to support him on the bed, so he simply let Yan HeQing lie down as he placed himself on top of him.

Yan HeQing liberated his hands, pressing Xiao YuAn’s head down to kiss him deeply. With the other hand, he explored into Xiao YuAn’s body, slowly preparing him for what was about to come.

When he sensed that it was good to go, Yan HeQing was about to turn over to be on top. However, Xiao YuAn suddenly stretched out a hand to stop him: “I’ll do it. Your abdomen is still injured.”

Yan HeQing was still in a daze, when Xiao YuAn suddenly sat down, allowing Yan HeQing to enter his body.

With the help of gravity, the burning heat entered deep inside his body, and Xiao YuAn felt as if his whole body was burning. As he hugged Yan HeQing, he gasped in a low voice. It was rare to see Xiao YuAn like this, so Yan HeQing wasn’t in a hurry. He simply gnawed at his smooth shoulders.

It was a beautiful night, and Xiao YuAn was able to take the initiative in the first half of the night, trying his best to make both of them feel comfortable. However, he couldn’t continue in the second half of the night, and with a muddled consciousness, he allowed Yan HeQing to sink into pleasure.

Early the next morning…

The snow had fallen all night, finally stopping in the morning. It was still quite early outside, and the morning light was quietly falling through the windows.

When Yan HeQing opened his eyes, he found that Xiao YuAn was also awake. He was about to ask Xiao YuAn if he felt uncomfortable, but all of a sudden, he saw Xiao YuAn blinking at him. As Xiao YuAn got up, he casually grabbed a coat, and trotted to open the window with his shoes on. Then Xiao YuAn rushed back. His body was shivering due to the cold air, so he hurried to get inside the warmth of the quilt. Yan HeQing quickly stretched out his hands to hug Xiao YuAn close to his body.

Not long after, Xiao YuAn felt much warmer. As he smiled at Yan HeQing, he said: “Yan-ge, look at the window.”

Outside the window, the snow fog was fading, and the snow accumulated at night began to dissipate. While the cold and crispy red plums were weighing down the branches.

Xiao YuAn turned back to look at Yan HeQing with a bright smile on his face, as if the Imperial Palace’s walls covered by the snow were shining with a bright light2.

In the cold weather, no matter how busy the days for his husband are, he can’t resist the passage of time. As time goes by, he can’t help but miss him until night.