The Arrangement

Chapter 20

Du Fen wiggled his nose and blinked his eyes open blearily. A strand of bright red hair dangled in front of his eyes tantalizingly. He glared at it for waking him up, and rather than brush it out of the way, he buried his face into the warm chest in front of him.

Jian Jun awoke at the first stirring of the cute youth beneath him and smiled endearingly as the man in his arms cuddled closer. If his precious bride-to-be did not want to wake up yet, he was not about to make him. They were almost to the Imperial Capitol city and his Palace anyways.

He would miss being able to hold the young man in his arms each night. He knew that the court and his mother would put a stop to that as soon as he walked into those gates. He sighed to himself.

For all that he was the Emperor, there were some rules that he must abide by. For the sake of his precious boy, he would do so only until they were safely wed. There would be no room for scandal where he was concerned.

It was also why, despite wanting to desperately, he had refrained from deflowering his precious love. His gaze darkened as he thought about how long it would be before he could officially take the youth in his arms as his. At least, as long as he wanted things to turn out his way.

*

"They are almost back now. A messenger said they will reach the Capitol by midday." The Emperor's brother announced as he walked in the door briskly. The General looked up at him and smiled genuinely for the first time in a few days.

"Good. We should send more guards to meet them to make sure they make it thorough the streets alright." He was thinking of all the back alleys and two-faced nobles that lived in the city with a grim determination.

"Yes, I have already had them assemble. Did you want a break and go with them? I can work on the paperwork." He offered nobly. The General raised a brow. This lazy brother was offering to do work for him.

"What's the catch?" He asked suspiciously. The Emperor's brother looked away from those sharp eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

"Just a little favour later. Nothing important I promise." He assured him. The General snorted. There was no such thing as a 'little favour' when it came to this man.

"Fine, but I reserve the right to refuse three times if I don't like the favour." He negotiated. The brother nodded after thinking about it.

"Okay. Go on to the Jade courtyard. They will be departing from there." He slipped past the General to take a seat at the desk and the General noticed that he smelled a touch of incense musk upon him. He frowned and was about to leave, but turned back at the last second.

"Did you already honour your mother today?" He asked in a quiet voice. The Emperor's brother looked up in surprise and nodded faintly. The General smiled at him. "Good. Such a filial son. He would be very proud of you if he could see you now."

The Emperor's brother looked shocked at the empty door that the man had just slipped out of. He gulped down a tight feeling in his chest and blinked away the faint threatening of tears that those words had elicited.

He took a deep breath and turned his attention to the paperwork, a perfect distraction for the anniversary of his mother's death.

*

The Captain smiled unconsciously as he saw the large group of soldiers approach with the Emperor's colours waving above them. He waved to the tall man who led the group in a splendid set of armour.

"General! How is everything at the Capitol?" He exclaimed when they were finally close enough and slowed to a stop. The General scowled at him.

"You are late. You were supposed to be here by midday." He grumbled as he scanned the group for the wayward Emperor. His eyes widened when he saw the man grinning and speaking to a youth next to him on horseback, ignoring everyone else and pointing to the landmarks.