From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 116: Ill-Met By Moonlight

"What is Ah Yun looking at?"

Liu Yao’s words were a low whisper, almost drowned out by the revelry around them but Yan Zheyun didn’t miss the slight note of petulance in them and it made a small smile play on his lips. If someone had told him months ago that the emperor had this almost childish, possessive side to him that he tried his best to keep under wraps, Yan Zheyun would have dismissed it without a second thought.

It felt nice though. Gave him the reassurance that he wasn’t replaceable by another pretty face, especially since His Majesty was surrounded by so many.

He leaned casually back into Liu Yao’s touch, the arm that had snaked around his waist tightening its grip once before it pulled a cushion closer for Yan Zheyun to recline against. "Your new principal graduate is an interesting young man."

Liu Yao raised an eyebrow. Yan Zheyun’s eyes crinkled in response with a hint of slyness that made Liu Yao’s eyes darken with intent. To the other patrons of the feast, the emperor was indulging in a relaxing moment with a beloved concubine, their heads pressed close together as they exchanged sweet nothings with each other.

They would blanch, though, if they could listen to the content of the conversation.

"You killed a son of the Liang Family?"

Yan Zheyun hummed. "He was trying to touch me," he said, blinking at Liu Yao innocently. "Should Yan Yun have permitted him?"

He had weighed up the pros and cons of mentioning this to the emperor, much like the risk assessment profiling he used to do before embarking on new business ventures. On one hand, he had murdered a noble, which was a crime second only to murdering a member of the imperial family. On the other hand, Liu Yao had given the impression multiple times that he would be more than happy to get rid of the old noble clans if he could just figure out a way to revamp the system without instigating a full-blown rebellion.

He rather suspected that Liu Yao wouldn’t mind a death or two in the younger generation of nobles.

Sure enough, "...well done," Liu Yao said.

Yan Zheyun’s smile widened. "Your Majesty is magnanimous," he replied, a twinkle in his eyes that robbed the scholars sneaking glances at the dais of their breath. "But I’m bringing this up now because Principal Graduate Tang happened to catch me in the act that time."

A sudden terseness slipped into Liu Yao’s posture. Yan Zheyun reached out to touch his arm. He did not doubt that for a split second there, the emperor had considered getting rid of the candidate that he had been most proud of, just to protect Yan Zheyun. Yan Zheyun’s perspective on Liu Yao had changed throughout their acquaintanceship. The man was still a decent emperor, to be sure, but he wasn’t necessarily a good person in the traditional sense of the word, didn’t always uphold the values philosophical idealism dictates he should. He wasn’t always impartial when it came to personal matters, and Yan Zheyun derived confidence from this, could take comfort in the fact that Liu Yao wasn’t so perfect an emperor that he would unfailingly prioritise the bigger picture over...well.

Over his boyfriend.

"Don’t worry," Yan Zheyun murmured. "Our honest Principal Graduate Tang didn’t raise the issue with the magistrate when I was but a slave, he isn’t going to bring it up now that I am an imperial concubine."

"He has no evidence?"

"Mm. No support either," Yan Zheyun said, dimpling. "Who else can he rely on apart from Your Majesty?" This was why he chose to come clean with Liu Yao about the murder straight off the bat. Yan Zheyun could guess at the sort of man that Tang Yuqin was. A good man, the sort to uphold the same set of philosophical ideals that Liu Yao played hard and fast with. Should Tang Yuqin’s relationship with his liege improve in the future, should he think that having a scheming killer warm the dragon bed be a threat to the stability of the realm, Yan Zheyun had no doubt that Tang Yuqin would go to great lengths to try and remove him from the picture, even if it meant risking his own life and incurring the emperor’s wrath. The reason why he hadn’t reported Yan Zheyun was that as a peasant’s son he’d had been powerless in the nest of corruption that was the capital.

But Tang Yuqin would not remain weak for long if he played his cards right. Liu Yao intended to use him and Yan Zheyun wanted him to be used.

Insofar as he was incapable of becoming Yan Zheyun’s enemy, of course.

This was why there had to be no secrets between Liu Yao and him. Or secrets that might be exposed anyway. One day, perhaps, he would be able to trust Liu Yao with all his truths, with stories of his original world even. Yan Zheyun would love to share that knowledge, discuss with Liu Yao fresh perspectives from a different era and culture that might be useful for the country.

But it wasn’t time yet.

Patience, he told himself.

Banquets in general weren’t the most exciting of places to Yan Zheyun; after modern clubs, which he never found all that interesting anyway, sitting around and watching people have a meal and talk in circles around each other didn’t hold much appeal. That being said, they provided a useful opportunity to scrutinise the behaviour and attitudes of the attendees.

Ignoring the occasional bold glance that dared to peek at him, Yan Zheyun’s lazy gaze drifted from Principal Graduate Tang to the tables just one level below where he was seated on the dais. Great General Pan had risen briefly to offer a toast up to his emperor. Their interaction had been more cordial than Yan Zheyun had anticipated, with Great General Pan overlooking the two concubines Liu Yao kept by his side, as though he didn’t see anything wrong with the emperor’s audacious decision to bring members of the harem into a court event. Perhaps it didn’t strike him as odd; after all, Liu Yao had invited him, a military general, to a civil official’s celebration. Maybe he had dismissed it as an idiosyncrasy of the ruler of the kingdom.

But the young man next to him with the fiery gaze was a different story. He had the sort of rugged good looks Yan Zheyun associated with sporty outdoor backpacker types in the 21st century, with an edge of defiance that had been honed by years away from the capital with no malicious politicking to temper his free spirit. It was as admirable as it was foolish that the son of a general would be unable to conceal his emotions from scrutiny but yet it was what it was.

Pan Liqi, better known to Yan Zheyun as Scumbag 4.

Yan Zheyun returned his eyes to Liu Yao’s handsome face just as Pan Liqi’s disgruntled glare shot toward him. His boyfriend was so much more pleasing to the eye, he decided, just the right amount of playful and mature to make for an exciting relationship, with none of the ridiculous hangups that were in-built in Pan Liqi’s personality.

Yan Lixin’s enthusiastic narration of the more sordid aspects of the plot now felt like a whole lifetime ago—Yan Zheyun tried not to think about the way the memories of his family felt like they were fading away bit by bit like coloured photographs bleeding into a monotonous sepia—but he remembered a couple of honorary mentions given to Pan Liqi’s dichotomous personality.

Personally, Yan Zheyun found her description of this arrogant second-in-command difficult to respect.

The problem was, that Pan Liqi was, in modern terms, a homophobe. One with closeted tendencies, in fact. Yan Lixin hadn’t explained what it was about pretty boys that disgusted him so much but it hadn’t changed the fact that he had both taken out his dislike and slaked his convoluted lust on the original Yan Yun after the poor slave had been abandoned by a bored Scumbag 2. Liu Wei, who had newly turned emperor and needed to secure support for himself, had chosen to bestow his used goods—still beautiful enough on the surface to be desirable, apparently—to this promising young military official.

And Pan Liqi had accepted. Heavens alone knew why.

Whatever it was, Yan Zheyun decided firmly, he was to have nothing to do with Pan Liqi this time around. He was confident that, unlike Liu Wei, Liu Yao wouldn’t trade him for any obtainable benefit. As long as he avoided Pan Liqi like he was a carrier of the plague, there was no reason for the events of the novel to happen again.

And if Pan Liqi chose to stray into his path regardless, then he only had himself to blame for Yan Zheyun’s retaliation.

——————————

The lantern lights flicker in the evening breeze, my desires fade into the shadows as quickly as they had been illuminated.

Hua Zhixuan finished composing his little self-indulgent piece of poetry and snapped his fan shut with a quiet sigh. This Luming Banquet was...disappointing to say the least. Once upon a time, the chance to stand in the grand pavilion, heralded as a new generation of talent that would serve their emperor and country with a noble spirit, had featured almost nightly in the sweetest of his dreams.

But perhaps his perspective had changed over time. Having met the emperor and been accepted into his confidence, having found a bosom friend in Brother Yan, had taught Hua Zhixuan a valuable lesson in what was truly important. The prestige and recognition of the imperial examinations and all the officious titles it could offer sounded well and truly grand, but they weren’t integral to serving the people well.

He rounded the corner and headed towards a quiet garden, where he had spotted the principal graduate stealing towards earlier. He had chosen to leave the pavilion in search of this gentleman who had once been his strongest of rival candidates. Before arriving at the banquet, His Majesty had already granted Hua Zhixuan permission to seek out his future colleagues and make their acquaintance, an unspoken order between them to test the waters and gather information so as to speak. Hua Zhixuan had found the pompous attitudes running high in the pavilion stifling and had chosen to step away for a breath of fresh air.

However, he soon learnt that he had made a mistake when a raucous chorus of voices resounded from up ahead. This didn’t sound like a gathering that quiet, nondescript Principal Graduate Tang would participate in and a glance through the foliage revealed the frivolous third graduate, Yue Minzhe and a group of his close acquaintances, including Great General Pan’s son.

As frivolous as he was brilliant, it made sense that Yue Minzhe would hold the position of Tanhua, ’He Who Seeks Flowers’, as this third place was traditionally reserved for the most charming or handsome candidate of the lot. But Hua Zhixuan, whose status as a son of the Hua Family—even if just a distant branch—had given him insight into the competition, knew that beneath the lighthearted surface was a petty young man with unscrupulous tendencies.

Hua Zhixuan decided to avoid confrontation. He turned to slip away as silently as he had arrived, but as though the heavens were out to play a trick on him, a loud crack resounded as the sole of his silk shoes landed on a twig he hadn’t noticed.

"Who’s that?"

Great General Pan’s son’s eyes and ears must have been sharper than the rest of the scholars he was sitting with because he soon singled out Hua Zhixuan, who remained frozen on the spot like a startled small animal. A flash of revulsion washed over his expression and Hua Zhixuan knew that he had been recognised as the emperor’s concubine.

A frisson of irritation thrummed through him but he disguised it with his usual harmless smile. "Good evening, gentlemen."

It didn’t take them long to recognise him either, exchanging knowing glances of dark amusement as though he couldn’t read the disdain in their expressions.

"Isn’t this Brother Hua?" Yue Minzhe asked at last, in a tone that would be friendly if he didn’t look like he was trying his best to contain his laughter. "What brings you to the banquet? We were all devastated when we learnt that Brother Hua had chosen an easier path to a bright future."

Chosen. As though the Hua Clan’s decision to sacrifice Hua Zhixuan’s ambitions in favour of planting yet another spy in the imperial harem was Hua Zhixuan’s own doing.

Hua Zhixuan kept his smile happy. It was another thing he’d learnt from observing Brother Yan.

The less they knew about you, the less they could do about you.

"Brother Yue," he greeted cheerily. They were none of them strangers per se, having run in the same circles more or less. Yue Minzhe came from a line of civil officials and although his family bloodline wasn’t as privileged as the old noble clans were, he was the most successful son of the Yue main branch and that in a way made him more important than a forgettable extra like Hua Zhixuan would be. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Or so Yue Minzhe thought, anyway.

"Did Brother Hua come to congratulate us?" Another round of laughter, this one tinged with more mockery than the last. "There’s no need to stand on ceremony, come sit with us."

Another voice chipped in, "Ah, no wait, that would be inappropriate, we wouldn’t presume to sit on the same level as Niangniang."

Niangniang. Every word was calculated to be a barb. And it did sting. But he wasn’t going to let them know that.

"You’re right," he said with a shrug. "You should show more respect to this concubine."

Instead of the embarrassed spluttering they were anticipating from him, his frank acceptance left an incredulous silence ringing in the garden.

Hua Zhixuan blinked. "Have none of you learnt your manners?" he asked in feigned confusion. "Or is this how you show respect for a member of His Majesty’s harem?"

The scholars standing in front of him glanced at each other uneasily. Their expressions were quite the sight, a mix of disgruntlement and apprehension, and a couple of them had even risen to their feet halfheartedly as though they were trying to decide whether to greet him with proper etiquette or not.

Yan Minzhe remained firmly seated but his lackadaisical air had morphed into one of annoyance.

Why had His Majesty selected such a third graduate? Hua Zhixuan could only guess. At least Ren Zong, as affiliated to the old noble clans as he was, had more tact.

Hua Zhixuan was anticipating a good verbal sparring session with Yue Minzhe or one of the other less than pleased scholars but it was Great General Pan’s taciturn son who spoke up in the end.

"There’s nothing for a man to be proud of if he’s no better than a glorified whore."

Hua Zhixuan’s eyes widened in surprise. He was certain that prior to this day, he had not had the ’pleasure’ of making this soldier’s acquaintance and yet the animosity directed towards him surely wasn’t imagined.

"This lowly one is uncertain about what he has done to incur Deputy General Pan’s displeasure—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a sensual drawl interrupted him. "Noble Lord Hua needs do nothing to warrant the aggravation." A hint of derision seeped into the speaker’s next words, preceded by a quiet scoff. "A poorly disciplined dog will bite if it wants to bite, there’s nothing you can do to stop it."

Hua Zhixuan watched in morbid fascination as a lithe figure stepped out of the shadows, a derisive smile painted onto its beautiful face. He had never seen Liu Suzhi in his official robes and similarly, today, the red silk robes spilling off his shoulders would have looked more in place in a brothel than on a powerful eunuch.

"Does your father know that you’ve been going around barking at innocent passersby, boy?" Liu Suzhi asked.

Deputy General Pan’s expression turned black.