“Little cat? Is that you?” Luo Tingshi asked tentatively.
Yu Zhi nodded vigorously. “Ouch—”
The excessive motion made his already dizzy head spin even more. He tapped his forehead, then lay in Luo Tingshi’s embrace, gazing up at him. “Why am I so dizzy?”
Within the hazy canopy, Luo Tingshi’s normally dark, intimidating eyes had shed all traces of ice. A deep smile spread across his lips, lifting the corners of his tense mouth.
He lowered his gaze to meet Yu Zhi’s.
The youth in his arms tilted his head up to look at him. From Luo Tingshi’s angle, the boy’s cat-like eyes appeared even rounder, filled with discomfort. They glistened with tears, presenting a pitifully helpless expression.
Any ordinary person witnessing this scene would feel boundless pity for him.
Yet Luo Tingshi felt only boundless desire.
He loved seeing him cry, loved making him cry…
Luo Tingshi’s eyes locked tightly onto Yu Zhi, desire churning beneath the smiling gaze.
“Waaah…” The feverish youth was dazed and confused, unable to grasp his situation, still burrowing into Luo Tingshi’s embrace.
Luo Tingshi drew a deep breath, lowered his head, and bit down on Yu Zhi’s lips. He sucked gently until those two lips were stained crimson once more before releasing him.
His eyes swept over the boy’s flushed lips.
Luo Tingshi nodded with satisfaction. Much more pleasing to the eye.
Only then did he explain to Yu Zhi, “Because you’ve caught a chill.”
“Huh?” Yu Zhi covered his mouth. “Then… don’t kiss me anymore, lest you pass on your illness.”
His voice was weak and soft. Luo Tingshi stroked Yu Zhi’s head and asked with a smile, “But what if I want to kiss Xiao Yu?”
Luo Tingshi’s eyes darkened slightly: “Is that so?”
A cool breeze stirred. Luo Tingshi cupped Yu Zhi’s feverish cheek, gently pressing a strand of hair away from the side of the youth’s face with his fingertip. He slowly lowered his head, inch by inch closing the distance between them in the dim candlelight.
Their noses touched, the youth’s hot breath tangling around Luo Tingshi’s lips.
Luo Tingshi tilted his head slightly, his parted thin lips brushing against the youth’s. His voice dropped low and heavy: “After you recover, will you let me have you?”
He had overheard snippets of conversation between Yu Zhi and Imperial Physician Zhang, learning that pregnancy did not preclude intimacy—quite the opposite. Yu Zhi needed him inside.
Each night, he lingered outside the Imperial Consort’s quarters, unable to breach the threshold.
Heaven knew how he’d restrained himself.
“Luo Tingshi… are you a beast?” Yu Zhi gasped, his words piercing the fog of confusion. Luo Tingshi’s words shattered the haze, bringing a flicker of clarity to his dazed mind. “I’m like this, and you still think of…”
“I am a beast.”
Luo Tingshi’s gaze was sincere. “I enjoy seeing you cry. I have since childhood.”
“You…” Yu Zhi grabbed Luo Tingshi’s robe, struggling to lift himself up. A large hand suddenly seized his forearm, pulling him effortlessly into an embrace.
Straddling Luo Tingshi’s lap, Yu Zhi pressed his hands against his temples to quell the sharp throbbing. With strained breath, he managed, “So scaring me in that cave back then—you just wanted to see me cry?”
Luo Tingshi’s pupils contracted in shock. “You knew?”
Yu Zhi slumped weakly, leaning against Luo Tingshi’s shoulder as he drew shallow breaths.
Luo Tingshi stroked Yu Zhi’s slender back. After a moment’s silence, he revealed the truth: “It was only after seeing you cry from fear that I became obsessed with your tears.”
Yu Zhi held back, then spat out, “You pervert!”
Yu Zhi snorted coldly. “Good to know.”
The man’s large hand stroked his back with just the right pressure. Yu Zhi felt soothed by the touch, the ache in his head seeming to lessen considerably.
He leaned into Luo Tingshi’s embrace and murmured, “Touch me more.”
Luo Tingshi: “Touch where?”
Yu Zhi glared at him: “My back, naturally. Where else would you want to touch?”
Luo Tingshi looked at him innocently: “I was merely asking. I didn’t mean anything else.”
Yu Zhi: “…”
He didn’t have the energy to argue with Luo Tingshi about trivial matters. Closing his eyes, he directed Luo Tingshi: “Touch me like you would a little kitten.”
Luo Tingshi obeyed, his palm sliding slowly down Yu Zhi’s back. His gaze lingered on Yu Zhi’s face. “Wasn’t your childhood nickname ‘Xiao Yu’? What about ‘Little Cat’?”
Yu Zhi’s expression remained unchanged: “Father said I was extremely frail at birth, about the size of a kitten. He often called me ‘Little Cat’ too.”
Yuzhi’s heart skipped a beat at the near-slip.
Fortunately, he remained lucid. Had the fever clouded his mind, he might have revealed his secret to Luo Tingshi.
Far too dangerous. He must be ever more cautious around Luo Tingshi henceforth.
–
“Your Majesty, the medicine is ready.”
Imperial Physician Zhang entered the room carrying the medicine bowl. When it came to the Emperor’s health, he never delegated tasks—he personally selected the herbs, prepared the decoction, and delivered the medicine.
Approaching the bedside, he saw the two figures embraced together. Without so much as a flicker of his eyebrows, he handed the bowl to Luo Tingshi.
“You shall assist His Majesty in taking the medicine.”
Luo Ting gently stirred the liquid with a spoon, scooping a ladleful to bring to Yu Zhi’s lips.
Yu Zhi glanced at the dark, viscous liquid in the spoon and murmured weakly, “Are you trying to poison me to death?”
He took the bowl and downed it in one gulp. The bitterness exploded in his mouth, and Yu Zhi’s face scrunched up. He glanced at Physician Zhang: “There, there. The medicine is finished. Will I recover tomorrow?”
A faint smile touched the corners of Physician Zhang’s eyes, though his tone remained solemn. “Barring complications, Your Majesty’s fever should break after tonight. However, this illness will require several days of recuperation.”
Yu Zhi responded listlessly, “I understand.”
Physician Zhang bowed deeply. ” Your Majesty, please rest well. I shall sleep in the west wing tonight and remain at your beckoning.”
Yu Zhi waved him off. “Go.”
He had felt slightly unwell while reviewing memorials at noon, but he hadn’t paid it much mind. Little did he expect that the moment he let his guard down, it would strike with such ferocity.
The illness struck fiercely, completely draining Yu Zhi of energy. After drinking the medicine, all he wanted was to crawl under the covers and rest.
The howling wind whipped through the courtyard, making the leaves rustle and swish.
Lying beneath the covers, Yu Zhi felt the man’s steady hand stroking his back. He closed his eyes in contentment and soon fell into a deep, restless sleep.
Luo Tingshi’s hands never stopped moving, his eyes scanning the figure in his arms.
A kitten?
Yu Zhi’s explanation was perfectly reasonable. There was nothing to doubt.
But Luo Tingshi didn’t believe it.
The beauty who vanished into thin air after a springtime encounter, the little white cat that appeared in Lianchun Hall, the habits Yu Zhi occasionally revealed unconsciously, the faint, almost inaudible meows in his ears…
And then—the little white cat that had ruined his painting all those years ago.
It was identical to the one in Lianchun Hall.
Details he had once overlooked surfaced one by one. Past memories scattered like beads on the ground, strung together by Luo Tingshi with the thread in his mind.
Luo Tingshi sensed he had uncovered a shocking secret.
If all this were true…
Could the royal family of Yu Kingdom be cat demons?
No wonder Yu Zhi’s disguise was so convincing. No wonder he’d fainted inexplicably that dawn in Lianchun Hall.
No wonder Yu Zhi, a man, could go into heat and bear offspring.
No wonder…
All the lingering questions seemed to find their answers.
Luo Tingshi recalled that beautiful little white cat, a faint smile curving his lips.
No wonder Yu Zhi despised him so much. From Yu Zhi’s perspective, he truly had done a lot of despicable things.
“What I owe you, I will help you reclaim it all.”
Luo Tingshi kissed Yu Zhi and chuckled softly.
They say humans and demons follow different paths, but what of it? Whether Yu Zhi was human or demon, he was his husband.
–
After a nap, Yu Zhi felt much more energetic, though his body still felt sluggish and unwilling to move.
As he lay in bed for a while, Luo Tingshi entered the room carrying a basin of water.
“Stay still. I’ll wash you.” While gently wiping Yu Zhi’s cheeks with a warm, damp cloth, Luo Tingshi suggested, “You needn’t review the memorials today. Rest in bed.”
Yu Zhi: “There’s no need to go anyway. I reviewed all the memorials yesterday.”
“Very well,” Luo Tingshi smiled at him. “The wind blew all night last night, covering the courtyard with a thick layer of fallen leaves. It’s grown much colder today. Winter will be upon us soon. From now on, you should stay indoors and not go out.”
“Winter? That’s still two or three months away,” Yu Zhi shook his head. “I’m not some fragile porcelain figurine. Is it really necessary?”
Luo Tingshi dried each of Yu Zhi’s fingers one by one, then slipped his own hand into Yu Zhi’s palm, interlocking their fingers through the gaps.
“I never wish to witness last night’s scene again.”
Luo Tingshi pressed Yu Zhi’s hand against his own heart. “Xiao Yu, seeing you suffer feels like my heart is being carved out. I couldn’t sleep all night. Your body is yours, but it is also mine. I will cherish and protect it, never letting it endure another shred of pain.”
Hearing this, Yu Zhi lifted his gaze and shot Luo Tingshi a look of disdain. “My body belongs only to me. Don’t get any foolish ideas.”
No sooner had the words left his lips than Luo Tingshi suddenly leaned in, parting his lips with a kiss.
Yu Zhi was stunned by the kiss, staring wide-eyed at the smooth forehead before him. It took him a long moment to react, finally pushing Luo Tingshi away.
Luo Tingshi caught Yu Zhi’s hands and pinned them to the pillow, claiming every corner of Yu Zhi’s mouth without warning. His nimble tongue stirred wildly.
Yu Zhi was kissed inside and out.
When the man finally released him, Yu Zhi was breathless, his eyes hazy.
“Luo Ting…” Yu Zhi growled, his teeth itching with frustration.
Luo Ting’s dark eyes locked onto him. ” You said last night that once you were well, you could kiss me.”
Yu Zhi retorted irritably, “Am I well? Kiss, kiss, kiss—all you ever do is kiss me! Calling you my ‘favorite’ was spot on! Hmph! You ‘favorite’ are quite bold, repeatedly defying me. Kneel before me and reflect on your actions.”
Without a word, Luo Tingshi knelt before Yu Zhi’s bed.
Kneeling on the floor did nothing to diminish his imperial presence. His back remained straight as he gazed at Yu Zhi. “I have longed for Your Majesty for thirteen years. Now that my beloved is before me, how could I possibly resist drawing near?”
Thirteen years?
Luo Tingshi smiled helplessly: “Your Majesty, do not forget—I was only nine myself at the time. I did admire you, but back then I merely sought to possess you. I harbored no other intentions.”
Yu Zhi fell silent.
All this time, he had dismissed Luo Tingshi’s professed affection as falsehood.
No matter how he tried, he couldn’t associate the word “love” with Luo Tingshi.
He didn’t want it to be true either.
Luo Tingshi loved him? It felt utterly bizarre. The mere possibility made Yu Zhi feel utterly uncomfortable.
Seeing Yu Zhi’s prolonged silence, Luo Tingshi added fuel to the fire: Your Majesty, every word I speak comes from the depths of my heart. I love you. You are the only one for me in this lifetime. If you do not marry me, I am destined to live out my days alone.”
Yu Zhi seized upon the contradiction in his words: “You were clearly still seeking to marry ‘Lu Jing’ just moments ago.”
Luo Tingshi gave a bitter smile. “That was before I reunited with Your Majesty. I didn’t know I loved you then. That night, the only reason I went to bed with you was because I saw your eyes. Otherwise, I would never have allowed myself to be intimate with another.”
“What did you say?” Yu Zhi froze completely.
A shadow flickered in Luo Tingshi’s eyes as his voice turned icy. “Many have thrown themselves at my feet. Does Your Majesty know the fate of those who tried to seduce me in the past?”
As he spoke, Luo Tingshi’s tone softened, as if tempting Yu Zhi to ask more.
Intuition told Yu Zhi this could not bode well.
Luo Tingshi chuckled softly: “Since these people were so eager to find someone to… well, you know, I ordered them stripped naked and thrown into the dungeon reserved for sex offenders.”
Yu Zhi stiffened, a chill running down his spine.
If Luo Tingshi hadn’t recognized him, would he too have been…
Though he knew he could transform and flee, never to suffer such a fate, Yu Zhi felt his blood run cold.
In that moment, the love spoken by Luo Tingshi seemed stained with blood.
Yu Zhi suppressed the chill in his heart, his lips and teeth trembling slightly. “What exactly do you love about me?”
He found it increasingly hard to believe that someone like this could love another.
Luo Tingshi raised an eyebrow. “Does love need a reason? I simply adore the way you cry. If I must find a reason, perhaps it’s because…”
Luo Tingshi lowered his gaze, his voice fading into a whisper.
“You are the only one who trusts and relies on me wholeheartedly. You are the one who made me feel needed.”