From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 122: Everyone Has Their Secrets

It was probably 8 or 9 pm, Yan Zheyun surmised. It was sunset and the imperial gardens were bathed in gold, the day finally cooling down enough such that he found an outdoors walk in multiple layers of robes less unbearable than before.

The only thing he missed about being a slave in the Wu Household was getting away with just one threadbare tunic on when the weather turned hot.

8 or 9 pm was late by inner palace standards, with the curfew in place by now. However, Yan Zheyun had been given express permission to be here, having been invited by Liu Yao for a walk. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, Liu Yao too preoccupied with whatever affairs of the state might have cropped up as well as the visiting dignitaries from the north, whose intentions were still unclear, as far as Yan Zheyun knew.

He didn’t know much since he didn’t ask much. If Liu Yao wanted to volunteer information, he would be more than happy to lend a listening ear. If he didn’t, then it wasn’t the concubine’s place to pry.

Private moments like these could be better spent anyway, right? A romantic stroll through a lavish garden at dusk; it was almost like a post-dinner date walk through the park.

The thought was so entertaining to Yan Zheyun, already picturing Liu Yao tugging his emperor robes out of the way of toddler bicycles, that he had to struggle to contain the pleased little smile pulling at the corner of his lips. Light fingertips pressing tenderly over the soft skin there told him he’d failed to hide his amusement though. He reached up to catch Liu Yao’s hand, meeting Liu Yao’s patient, fond gaze for a second before he returned it quickly to the scenery.

Nevertheless, he felt his heartbeat quicken.

...what right does anyone have being that handsome? He wished he could blame it on the atmospheric natural lighting but Liu Yao looked just as good in harsh sunlight as he did now, so.

"Ah Yun seems to be feeling all right, this sovereign worried for nothing," Liu Yao teased.

Yan Zheyun blinked up at him in mild confusion. "Worried?"

A warm hand wrapped itself around Yan Zheyun’s, interlinking their fingers as Liu Yao started to guide them towards the weaving pathways. If it were anyone else, such as one of his pesky siblings, Yan Zheyun would have dislodged their grip because summer was really not his favourite time for skin-on-skin contact.

But...it wasn’t like he hadn’t been in hotter, sweatier situations with Liu Yao anyway.

"I wasn’t sure how you would take the news about your sister’s missing status," Liu Yao continued, a tentative edge creeping into his voice as he squeezed Yan Zheyun’s hand once. "We won’t give up, Ah Yun, it’ll be a matter of time before we find her for you."

Warmth flooded into Yan Zheyun’s chest when he realised that Liu Yao, his boyfriend, who was the busiest man Yan Zheyun had ever met, had taken the time out from his usual post-dinner activity of perusing yet more memorials to check up on him, to provide comfort for something that he thought would be upsetting. He was feeling a bit blue earlier when trying and failing to brainstorm potential new plans of action regarding Yan Xi.

But Liu Yao had considered his feelings. In this era, where the business of ’husbands’ superseded those of ’wives’ as the natural order of things, Liu Yao had taken the effort to prioritise Yan Zheyun.

Yan Zheyun bit his lower lip to control the sudden influx of emotions. By modern-day standards, this was a relationship that had moved fast; they weren’t anywhere close to their first anniversary yet. But by ancient standards, Yan Zheyun knew he was very lucky he even had a relationship to call his own, that he wasn’t stuck pining in a boudoir for a man who might remember his existence once a year.

Let alone be so gentle with his feelings. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"I promised you a marriage, I’ll keep my word."

It made sense for Liu Yao to be saving the consummation of their union for an actual wedding, even if Yan Zheyun couldn’t remember Liu Yao making such a promise. That night—every night spent naked in Liu Yao’s arms—felt like a fevered dream, his head clouded with a dense foggy lust that threatened to force all other thoughts out of his mind. But he recalled those specific words, had them emblazoned in his head, which swam with the heady combination of happiness and unease.

Happiness because he would like that very much—even if a part of him was shocked by how quickly they were progressing, his modern brain unable to comprehend why he would feel like jumping into marriage without rationalising it out for years beforehand.

But Liu Yao felt just right. And this was where the unease seized hardest at him; Yan Zheyun still hadn’t asked about that ’Ziyu’.

Yan Zheyun would like to think that he was the bigger person but now he knew just how ugly some parts of him could be.

People were allowed to have exes, Liu Yao didn’t have to explain anything, especially not since Ziyu had already passed away.

And, Yan Zheyun reminded himself with a sinking feeling in his gut, everyone has secrets, including you. Especially you.

He tightened his hold on Liu Yao’s hand and forced himself to pay attention to the lighthearted conversation. Lately, his mood had been oscillating a lot, moments of peace, such as this one, disturbed by darker thoughts about his real identity and the distorted fragments of reality that lingered insidiously on the periphery of his subconscious, waiting for the opportune moment to catch him by surprise.

What right did he have to want honesty from Liu Yao when he didn’t even know for certain that the person who woke up next to Liu Yao every morning wouldn’t one day go back to being Yan Yun?

——————————

"The Yulin Army has been without a commander for a while now, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

If any official were to look into the emperor’s study now, they would be surprised—or rather, horrified—to discover that the individual Liu Yao had directed this question to was none other than the old eunuch who had served him since he was a young boy.

They wouldn’t take this as a good sign—naturally not. The eunuchs might be servants on the surface but in reality, they were a complicated network that spread through the entirety of the inner palace like the meridians (1) in a body, so intrinsic to said body’s well-being that it was impossible to remove them from the system at all.

If there was little corruption, then good qi will flow through and the body will thrive.

But give a eunuch too much power and they could be like a potent poison.

There was no reign to date in Great Ye where the eunuchs had amassed more political power than that of the late emperor’s. But Liu Yao’s was a close second.

Should any of his officials dare to question why, he would be more than happy to retort with a rather unrepentant, "Because all of you forced this sovereign’s hand."

Standing before the emperor’s desk was Head Eunuch Cao, still fiddling with the cup of piping hot tea in front of him as he clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Liu Yao rolled his eyes. The young eunuch who had prepared it was a prospective new disciple of Cao Mingbao’s but from the looks of it, this finicky old man wasn’t pleased with the quality of the work done under his stern watch.

"It’ll cool down by the time you’re done answering my question, Chief Cao."

Cao Mingbao had no choice but to clear his throat sheepishly and get down to business. The joviality ingrained into his face like a mask was so much like second nature to him that it didn’t slip off even when he swapped between the roles he served in. His smile was like that of a friendly uncle’s but the shrewd gleam in his eyes told Liu Yao that his Chief of the Eastern Depot was ruminating on the problem he just threw out for debate.

"In response to Your Majesty," Cao Mingbao said. "Whether there is a grand protector in court or not isn’t an urgent issue but whether the Yulin Army can protect Your Majesty to the best of their ability is."

Liu Yao put his brush back down and blew gently on the reply to the memorial that he’d just penned. "Oh? Chief Cao is suggesting that the safety of the imperial palace should go to someone else?" Commander of the Yulin Army was a role traditionally given to the grand protector and to assign this duty to another official would no doubt cause a bit of a stir in court, especially from the conservative old nobles, who wanted nothing more than to continue to consolidate their power where they could.

Cao Mingbao’s smile widened. His enemies in the Thirteen Departments would shiver at the sight of it. "What is the use of placing a civil official in charge of a military task?" he replied with the same sort of patience old retired gentlemen in the countryside had when they hung up their birdcages and played chess all morning. "Although the position of grand protector requires an official to have commanded in the army before, at the end of the day, the bulk of their work is done in court, attending to administrative matters. Your Majesty, a general out of practice is not much better than a general that can only wage war on paper (2)."

This thought had occurred to Liu Yao too. Not to mention, the position of grand protector was highly prestigious and at the moment, there was no one in his court of superior enough rank to grant it to that wasn’t also in a faction Liu Yao wanted to diminish.

But if he were to adopt Cao Mingbao’s suggestion and leave the grand protector position unfilled...putting aside the pressure he would face from the old noble clans to announce a candidate who suited them, he would also have to find someone else to hand off the commander role to. And in order to maintain the tenuous balance of powers that he, as emperor, had to manage to secure his hold on his throne, this person couldn’t be Eastern Depot or Brocade Guard.

The emperor’s eunuchs and the emperor’s dogs. Neither of them was suitable for the job. The eunuchs were Liu Yao’s faction but only insofar as Cao Mingbao was Liu Yao’s faction and no matter how much trust he had for this long-time servant of his, an emperor’s trust was very finite when it came to his authority.

As for the brocade guard, they already had enough military power within the palace walls. It was Yao Siya himself who had warned Liu Yao against giving them too much leeway, saying, "Even the most obedient of dogs have the teeth to bite."

No, Liu Yao needed someone else. Someone with no influence now but who could rise to the occasion. More importantly, someone who would value the opportunity and return it with loyalty.

He sighed and waved Cao Mingbao off. "This sovereign will have to think about this matter for a while more."

"As long as Your Majesty remembers to take some breaks when necessary," was the cheerful reply. "Imperial Concubine Yue was just complaining to this old servant the other day that he woke up in the middle of the night to find you working next to the dim candlelight."

Liu Yao’s eyes crinkled. "That was just once." He hadn’t dared to do it again, not after the irate lecture he’d received on taking better care of his vision. He’d been unable to fall asleep that night, too preoccupied with the problems he faced in court to set his mind at rest. The best solution for that was to work through the issues bothering him there and then but his Ah Yun had been right there by his side and he hadn’t wanted to wake him up by lighting more candles than just the one.

Ah Yun. It was almost time for the midday meal and he didn’t feel like eating alone today.

He was just about to send word to Yuyang Palace asking for Yan Yun to join him when Cao Mingbao was called out to the entrance of the study by his almost-disciple.

A moment later, he returned and bowed. "Your Majesty, Envoy Zhang is seeking an audience with you."