From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 118: A Suitable Distraction

The lanterns on the corridor of Qianqing Palace were fully lit by the time they returned from the banquet, warm light spilling out from the open doors to chase away the deep blue of night. Not for the first time, Yan Zheyun was taken aback by how comfortable living here had become. Coming back to Qianqing Palace was starting to feel more and more like coming home after a long day at work, a mindset that was both satisfying and worrying to him. On one hand, he craved this sense of belonging; for so long, he had felt like a drifting boat lost out at sea and now he finally had somewhere to anchor himself.

On the other hand, this sense of belonging had crept into him far too quickly, far too naturally. It left him blindsided and confused, with a strange sensation that was almost dissociative, as though a section of his mind had alienated itself from him and begun to propagate a whole host of emotions towards the world that he didn’t think he was capable of feeling as strongly.

Take Liu Yao for example.

Perhaps because they were no longer in the public eye, the emperor had gone from walking at the head of his train, as was customary, to keeping pace at Yan Zheyun’s side as they sauntered idly through the elaborate front court of his residential palace. Although it was the end of a long, exhausting day, the emperor was in good spirits, an easy smile tugging on the corner of his lips as he hummed softly under his breath. This wasn’t the Liu Yao that Yan Zheyun had first become attracted to but it was the Liu Yao that he now loved so much it left a dull ache in his chest, an inexplicable pang that he couldn’t articulate any good reason for, just like so many of the messy feelings that plagued him nowadays whenever he roused in the middle of the night from hazy dreams where he played songs on the guqin that he didn’t know existed.

He tried his best to disguise it under a semblance of normalcy, did well enough that he could set it out of his mind as he went about with his day-to-day activities for the most part. But once in a while, when he least expected it, he would catch a glimpse of something that sat at odds with him, as though someone had cut a hole into the canvas of the perfect watercolour painting he was living in and replaced it with a little bit of Picasso.

It was ironic, really, that just as he had started to adjust to the pace of this universe, just as he felt he had learnt enough and adopted enough of its culture to feel like he had assimilated, these odd uncanny episodes just had to surface to pull the rug from beneath his feet again. It was unlike him to fall so hard and invest so much in someone else, and a part of Yan Zheyun, the modern, rational part of himself that liked to sit down and reason problems out with spreadsheets and flowcharts, couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had waded out into what he’d thought was a shallow pool and was now drowning in the dark waters of the ocean.

It had been a long time since he’d considered that he was living in a novel and to revisit the thought left a queasy tightness in the pit of his stomach. Why did it feel like there were parts of him reawakening that weren’t his to begin with? Was this because of the host body? Was Yan Yun regaining consciousness after so long, bringing with it even more memories that Yan Zheyun had yet to inherit?

Fingers brushed against his cheek, startling him back out of his thoughts. He blinked and met Liu Yao’s gaze, taking note of the amused exasperation in their depths.

"Dusk was many shichen ago and yet Ah Yun is still daydreaming," Liu Yao teased. "Was there something on my face that was so very distracting that Ah Yun forgot to listen to me?"

Belatedly, Yan Zheyun realised that he had been staring blatantly at Liu Yao’s handsome profile, his eyes subconsciously drifting to the sharp cut of his jaw, which Yan Zheyun particularly liked nibbling at whenever they were pressed close together in bed, bodies plastered together in a heated frenzy as he relished the way Liu Yao would tighten his grip on his hips whenever his teeth scraped lightly over the sensitive skin there...

...and clearly, Liu Yao had guessed at the nature of the thoughts that had flooded into Yan Zheyun’s mind without warning because there was something unbearably smug about his raised eyebrow.

The ensuing burn of embarrassment was enough to derail Yan Zheyun from his troubles temporarily. Liu Yao’s night vision was apparently 20/20 because he had no problems poking fun at the faint dusting of pink across Yan Zheyun’s cheekbones. Before Liu Yao could make matters excruciating—Yan Zheyun suspected that not that deep down inside, the man had a bit of a sadistic streak in him but he didn’t want to think too closely about whether he had an answering humiliation kink, no don’t go there—he decided to change the subject swiftly.

Tugging on Liu Yao’s hand, he led them past the entrance of the main chamber, Liu Yao letting him lead them towards the emperor’s sleeping quarters with an indulgence that still stunned the servants that they passed by. Yan Zheyun had no doubts that word had gotten out about how audacious Imperial Concubine Yue was and the sorts of liberties he dared to take with the Son of Heaven. He knew that a wiser way of handling this newfound relationship of his would be to put on an act in front of the prying eyes of others; even though Qianqing Palace was Liu Yao’s territory, Yan Zheyun didn’t trust it to be airtight. Not as long as Liu Yao didn’t have absolute control over his court.

But an impulsive part of him, the part that was high off the explosive release of oxytocin in his brain whenever Liu Yao touched him, didn’t want to play it safe. He could play by the rules of this world in all other aspects, but his relationship with Liu Yao was the one thing he selfishly wanted to have a say in. At heart, he wished for a relationship between equals and Liu Yao...

Liu Yao was surprisingly amenable to this. It wasn’t like Yan Zheyun hadn’t noticed the almost sudden softening of the emperor’s attitude towards him, its unexpectedness jarring, especially since he couldn’t figure out why it had happened.

But whatever. He was happy at the moment, Liu Yao seemed pleased with what they had between them too. Why think so much about it? It was common for people to date and move on if it didn’t work out anyway, no need to take this too seriously, even if the thought of going separate ways made his throat squeeze shut uncomfortably.

Not that he could go separate ways without Liu Yao’s permission and he had the sneaking suspicion if it ever reached a point where he tried to end things between them, Liu Yao would stop being so amicable to the idea of equality.

"Your Majesty seems to have had a good evening today," Yan Zheyun said, changing the subject to more serious matters. Once they were alone in Liu Yao’s bedchambers, the maids dismissed and the doors shut, he pulled Liu Yao into a hug. "Congratulations are in order."

Strong arms tightened around Yan Zheyun’s lower back, pulling him nice and close as Liu Yao smiled down at him. "What did Ah Yun think about my new officials?"

In all honesty, not much. Yan Zheyun’s attention had been divided equally between the scholars and the unusual presence of Great General Pan and his son but what he saw hadn’t been entirely promising. Despite Liu Yao’s best efforts to cultivate an independent faction in his court by recruiting the poor scholars of the land, he was far from eradicating the control that the elite had over the politics. Still, it was a start, the first step to loosening the choke-hold that the noble clans had on power and influence.

"But it’s still not enough," was Liu Yao’s tired response, after Yan Zheyun summarised his thoughts for his willing audience.

Yan Zheyun ran a thumb over the faint furrow on Liu Yao’s brow to smooth it out. "Patience, Your Majesty," he said lightly. "This is just the beginning."

He received a hum of assent. "The next part of the plan will be harder to push through," Liu Yao murmured, leaning down to bury his face in the crook of Yan Zheyun’s neck and inhaling the soft fragrance that the maids had smoked Yan Zheyun’s formal clothes with before the banquet (1). It was ticklish and Yan Zheyun squirmed away on reflex, only to be caught back and pulled even closer still.

"Focus," he gasped, as Liu Yao started nuzzling against his ear. The emperor’s newly discovered duality often left Yan Zheyun reeling; in front of others, he was still that same imposing figure of absolute authority but behind closed doors, he was a changed person altogether, so generous with his affections that Yan Zheyun struggled to keep up.

It was heady. Made it difficult to concentrate on the serious matters at hand.

I feel like we’ve gone about this backwards...wasn’t it supposed to be the demon concubine who seduced the emperor away from his duties and obligations?

"Liu Yao. How are you planning on introducing Zhixuan’s return to court?"

Liu Yao finally drew back with a quiet reluctance though he didn’t go far. Reaching up to cup Yan Zheyun’s face gently in his broad hands, he asked, "What does my Ah Yun think?"

Since Yan Zheyun had been the one to bring Hua Zhixuan to Liu Yao’s attention, he was privy to what Liu Yao intended to do. The emperor’s decision to bring his concubines along to the banquet today was not made on a mere whim. Instead, it was the perfect opportunity to scope the reactions and tolerance levels of these young future officials, of whom many represented the ideologies of their respective families. They would be Hua Zhixuan’s colleagues, should Liu Yao’s controversial policy push through; any of his concubines who had gone through the formal years of education should be allowed to sit for the imperial examinations too. Should they pass, they should be permitted to leave the inner palace immediately to serve the throne in the capacity of an official, with a special provision that they could start a household of their own if their family refused to accept them back.

This last point had been suggested by Hua Zhixuan, who had made it clear that the Hua Family would only see him as a disgrace. This wasn’t something Yan Zheyun could understand, having come from an era where having a prestigious kid was something to be proud of with no exceptions.

"I do have a suggestion..." he trailed off hesitantly. He did but he wasn’t sure how favourable it would be to Liu Yao. Something had been niggling at him ever since he heard Liu Yao talk animatedly about some of his other male concubines who could potentially serve as valuable allies in the morning court in the future. He knew that it was because his boyfriend came from a different time, and shared the same conservative values that Hua Zhixuan once did before Yan Zheyun ’radicalised’ him, but he couldn’t help but think that Liu Yao was overlooking a perfectly good source of talent without even realising it.

"I’ve washed my ears to listen to you respectfully (2)," Liu Yao jested but Yan Zheyun knew that he would be listening intently and taking any workable suggestions on board. It was a shame they weren’t business associates back in the modern day and age; they could have had a dream partnership.

Well, that was still possible.

"The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent (3)."

Liu Yao blinked. "A distraction? What does Ah Yun intend to use as bait?"

Yan Zheyun blinked back at him in faux innocence, reaching up to loop his arms around Liu Yao’s neck and giving him a winsome smile.

"Women," he said. With a whole female workforce abandoning their traditional role to compete for candidacies with the men, what was a handful of male concubines in comparison?

"...I’m guessing Ah Yun isn’t suggesting I should start sending beauties to the households of officials who protest the loudest." But there was a glimmer of interest in Liu Yao’s eyes and Yan Zheyun could tell that he had caught on quickly.

His responding smile was small and smug, like the cat that had caught the canary, completely unaware that this adorable little celebration of his hadn’t gone amiss, Liu Yao’s eyes darkening with a possessive desire that he played down smoothly when Yan Zheyun lifted his gaze.

"That would be a waste of a precious resource," was his arch reply. Liu Yao might be an excellent manipulator but he needed a 101 on HR. "Let me sort out my thoughts before giving you a definitive plan. But if all works out well, I think Your Majesty is going to have no lack of support in court from a very unique faction."

...even if he didn’t like the idea of Liu Yao becoming even more popular with the ladies.