Too Late for Regrets

Trigger warning: attempted r**e, Wu Bin is his own warning

"Wait." Wu Bin indicated for Young Madam Guo's maids to escort her back to her residences. His gaze didn't leave Yan Zheyun's face once it had landed there, the weight of it heavy and possessive enough to make Yan Zheyun want to turn away. "Yun Er, come, I wish to speak to you separately."

Wu Bin held out a hand for him to take but Yan Zheyun ignored it as he rose to his feet without assistance. He could feel Xiao Ma looking between them in worry but wasn't feeling up to reassuring the boy.

"Return to your work," he said quietly, nudging Xiao Ma's shoulder. "Go."

"Big Brother Yan…"

But Yan Zheyun was already walking off towards their hut. As a slave, he should not be walking next to Wu Bin, much less ahead, as this was a blatant disregard of the differences in their status. Only equals were allowed to walk on equal footing. And only superiors could walk on ahead.

Wu Bin should have been insulted. Yan Zheyun was trying to goad him into a reaction because he wanted this incident to blow up in front of the Minister of Rites. This was the only method he could think of to get Wu Bin under house arrest by his father again and far, far away from him.

But Wu Bin was in an uncharacteristically forgiving mood. Yan Zheyun's wariness grew.

"Yun Er, come, let your big brother take a look at you." After stepping past the threshold, Wu Bin immediately stepped in close to Yan Zheyun. Yan Zheyun was on high alert and neatly sidestepped the attempt to grasp at his arms. He met Wu Bin's eyes dispassionately, unmoved by the pity and heartbreak in them.

"Big Young Master, please conduct yourself with some dignity." These were callous words that should have earned Yan Zheyun a scolding. He saw Wu Bin freeze up for a second before recomposing himself.

Wu Bin let out a regretful sigh. "Yun Er, are you still mad at me?" He tried to reach out to caress Yan Zheyun's smarting cheeks but Yan Zheyun jerked his head back. "Yun Er…you know I had no choice but to marry her, but the one I care for has only ever been you."

Yan Zheyun found himself at a loss for words. Where on earth did Wu Bin get his confidence from? Even after so many months of the cold treatment, how could he still assume that Yan Zheyun was avoiding his touch just because he was, what? Jealous? That Wu Bin had married some woman?

"Big Young Master, since it requires repeating, this humble servant implores you to conduct yourself with dignity." Yan Zheyun's words were deferential but his tone was icy and imperious like he was someone used to issuing commands.

Something snapped in Wu Bin's brain. The months that he'd been denied his pleasure had taken its toll on him, driving him slowly but surely towards insanity. The rational half of him had tried to conceal his mounting obsession beneath his usual gentlemanly act, but underneath his skin, the decay seemed to fester. He found himself unable to do much besides think of Yun Er. He felt like it wasn't fair. Yun Er was supposed to be his, he knew this to be fact. He dreamt about it often too, Yun Er's delectable body invading his dreams at night, Yun Er's face replacing those of the bedwarmers or Wu Bin's new wife every time he lay with them.

Even when Wu Bin had agreed to trade Yun Er with a promotion in court, he'd been unable to shake off the feeling that he'd been cheated of what was rightfully his. Yun Er had to go to the fourth prince but his virginity should have been Wu Bin's to enjoy.

"What are you doing—fuck—"

Perhaps it was an oversight on Yan Zheyun's part but Wu Bin had never used violence on him. He'd been physically close enough to Wu Bin in the past to feel Wu Bin holding himself back but he had always managed to. Wu Bin had never lost his scholarly demeanour so completely in front of anyone before.

Wu Bin now felt less like a man and more like an animal. He picked Yan Zheyun up with effortless ease and tossed him against the rickety table with a loud slam. The wooden tub with the handkerchief went flying onto the floor, clattering down next to Yan Zheyun.

Yan Zheyun winced as his spine bashed into the hard wooden table leg. He tried to keep his knees shut but Wu Bin forced himself in between his thighs and bent over to press frantic kisses all over Yan Zheyun's face. He was aiming for Yan Zheyun's mouth but Yan Zheyun pursed his lips and thrashed against his hold, gasping for breath when Wu Bin tightened his grip on his neck.

This refusal seemed to provoke Wu Bin further. He hitched Yan Zheyun's legs up around his waist and reached between their bodies to yank roughly at Yan Zheyun's tunic. But what he didn't know was that this shift in position, which brought the heat in his lower body closer to Yan Zheyun, also gave Yan Zheyun enough angle to reach for the knife in his shoe.

Wu Bin had no choice but to pause when he felt a cold blade press into his throat from the side.

"Yun Er," he said disbelievingly. "You would threaten your Big Brother Bin's life?"

[My good Big Brother Bin is currently trying to deflower me against my will, so yes, I really would.]

"Get off," Yan Zheyun croaked. His throat felt like it was on fire from the force Wu Bin used to hold him still. "Don't make me say this twice."

Despite his massive dislike for Wu Bin, Yan Zheyun had never once thought him a stupid person. Which was why he assumed that Wu Bin would comply for the sake of his safety if nothing else. But he'd underestimated the extent to which Wu Bin wanted to fuck him, apparently, just like how Wu Bin had underestimated the extent of Yan Zheyun's fighting skill.

Wu Bin shifted his weight back, like he was about to back off, but then made a sudden grab for Yan Zheyun's right arm. Perhaps he was counting on his Yun Er being too frail to resist him but he didn't plan for the sudden speed in Yan Zheyun's retaliation.

Dropping the knife, he caught Wu Bin's hand instead, dragging it abruptly down to the ground and unbalancing Wu Bin to the right. By reflex, Wu Bin relaxed his grip on Yan Zheyun's neck and this was all the leeway Yan Zheyun needed. He latched onto the back of Wu Bin's wrist with his other free hand, bringing his left shoulder up to shove Wu Bin away before he raised his left hip sharply, driving the jut of his bone straight into Wu Bin's groin.

Wu Bin let out a pained shout as Yan Zheyun rolled Wu Bin onto his back, reversing their positions as he pinned Wu Bin down. This was a self-defence technique Yan Zheyun had seen his teacher impart to the women's SD class. But he'd never thought he would have to utilise it himself on an assailant. With the upper hand, Yan Zheyun was now free to punch Wu Bin's face in. He could kill Wu Bin now, with the knife that he'd retrieved again.

But he knew that even if he succeeded, he would be executed for killing a court official. There was no such thing as a self-defence excuse in this dynasty, he was guessing. Probably wouldn't even get a fair trial.

He rose to his feet swiftly, backing away from Wu Bin as he circled towards the door to allow himself the chance to flee if necessary. But he kept the knife raised between them.

"Do you know the consequence of threatening a noble?" Wu Bin snarled out. Curled up on the floor in pain and with his hair and robes in a dishevelled mess, Wu Bin had fallen a long way from his previous heights. "Do you know what will happen to you if you kill me now—"

Yan Zheyun interrupted him. "Worst comes to worst, I'll die," he said calmly. "But Big Young Master won't be around to watch my execution."

This reply galled Wu Bin. When had his Yun Er developed such a strong personality? After so many years of submissiveness, Wu Bin had gotten bored of their little game and had decided that he was ready to discard his pet after a good fuck. But then Yun Er had suddenly become so cold, so irresistible, so smart that he'd outwitted Wu Bin at every twist and turn. And now he was all Wu Bin could think about…

"Yun Er," Wu Bin said defeatedly. "How did we become like this? We had feelings for each other once, right? Why…"

Yan Zheyun didn't reply. He wanted to tell Wu Bin to fuck off, that he'd imagined those feelings, but it wouldn't be fair to lie on Yan Yun's behalf. He knew that Yan Yun had returned Wu Bin's affections, even if it hadn't been worth it in the end.

"Is it because you've found someone new?"

The sudden accusation blind-sided Yan Zheyun but it made sense when realised that Wu Bin was staring at the handkerchief on the floor, woven from such high-quality silk that someone of Yan Zheyun's status wouldn't be able to afford it.

Wu Bin's face twisted with a hideous rage. "Who is it?!" he shouted, making a fumbling swipe for the handkerchief but Yan Zheyun reached first, snatching it out of his reach.

This was answer enough. "WHO IS IT?! WAS IT PRINCE XI?! DID HE MEET YOU IN SECRET—"

Prince Xi? The Bright Prince of the First Rank? It was impressive, all this bullshit that Wu Bin's brain managed to come up with in record time.

Yan Zheyun let out an incredulous laugh. "And what if it was?" he goaded. "It would be all thanks to Big Young Master, after all, for gifting Yun Er to him like a whore you'd bought off the streets."

Wu Bin went a deathly pale.

"Oh? Big Young Master didn't think Yun Er would guess? Yun Er is naïve, not stupid."

Yan Zheyun didn't know what to think of Wu Bin. He was a greedy, selfish individual who wanted to have his cake and eat it. He wanted to sell Yun Er for a shot at more prestige and power. He wanted Yun Er to succumb to him willingly even though he knew that it hurt the proud ex-aristocrat to have to share him with a woman.

But most outrageously, he wanted Yun Er's love despite betraying him over and over again.

"Yun Er," Wu Bin stammered. He didn't seem to notice the pain in his groin anymore. "I had no choice, you know I've been struggling to get the emperor's attention, it was the fourth prince who offered me the promotion and I—I faltered but I regret it now, Yun Er, please don't like someone else, I promise I won't give you up anymore—"

Yan Zheyun gazed down at him impassively.

[Sorry, Young Master,] he thought to himself. [The person whom you should be saying all these things to is long gone.]

Yan Zheyun turned to leave. Until Wu Bin returned to the main compound, he wasn't going to spend a second longer in this room.

"Wait, Yun Er, listen to Big Brother, Big Brother knows he was wrong to give you to the fourth prince, but nothing happened in the end, Third Sister took the fall—"

"What do you mean, your third sister took the fall?"

A livid voice yelled from outside.

Yan Zheyun concealed the knife up his sleeve and fell gracefully to his knees as the Minister of Rites swept into the tiny servant's hut, Guo Zhen following closely behind. She met Yan Zheyun's gaze and gave him a cold, triumphant smile but she didn't know that Yan Zheyun couldn't thank her enough. Just for tattling on Wu Bin to his father, she had gone from being a calamity to Yan Zheyun's very own goddess of fortune.

"Yan Yun, explain. What does the third young mistress' scandal have to do with the both of you?" Wu Shengqi seemed to be aware that his favourite son was more cunning than he gave him credit for because he didn't allow Wu Bin to wriggle his way out of this one. A thorough glance at the mess in the room, as well as the disgraceful state his son was in, was enough for him to guess what had just happened.

His temper flared. When had his son become so useless? He glared at Yan Zheyun.

Yan Zheyun inclined his head in acquiescence. "In response to the master," he said quietly. "The fourth prince took an interest in this humble servant and Big Young Master agreed to gift me to him. But something went wrong with the arrangement and Third Young Mistress was…affected instead." He conveniently left out what he knew of her ploy.

He expected the Minister of Rites to rebuke him but no scolding came.

Instead, the Minister of Rites appeared deep in thought as he looked at Yan Zheyun with a calculative gleam in his eyes.

"The fourth prince's birthday is soon approaching," he said suddenly. "The emperor had initially announced that he would personally throw a banquet in the fourth prince's honour in the palace. Despite the incident with Roushu, His Majesty still hasn't cancelled the preparations."

Yan Zheyun could feel the Minister of Rites gaze on his face. Shyly, he lifted his head and met Wu Shengqi's eyes.

Banquet? In the palace? That the emperor himself was hosting?

A daring idea formed in Yan Zheyun's mind.