Setting the Trap

Going back to those dreary evenings spent pouring over Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' with his father and trying to put it into a modern business context, Yan Zheyun hadn't been entirely convinced that there was a point to all these debates that the old man had insisted on having with him. He'd felt that something like war, which was so inherently epic, wasn't translatable into the 21st century. And even though sometimes he'd felt like murdering whoever had been arguing with him on the other side of the deal table, it still hadn't required such strategy and tactics to navigate around them and secure a satisfactory outcome in the end.

To put it simply, Yan Zheyun had been an arrogant man.

But now, playing politics in just an official's inner courtyard, Yan Zheyun could only think, [Thanks Pa, I owe you one.]

Sun Tzu said: 'The art of war teaches us to rely not on the chance of our enemies not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.'

An unassailable position had been the only thought to run through Yan Zheyun's mind when he'd noticed the Minister of Rites' intentions. He'd seen the greed in Wu Shengqi's eyes, upon discovering that the fourth prince was interested in this slave of his household. In a way, Yan Zheyun could see why Wu Bin had hidden his agreement with the fourth prince from his father. Wu Bin had only intended to give Yan Zheyun up for a night, not forever. But the Minister of Rites wouldn't hesitate to wrap Yan Zheyun up like a pretty present and deliver him to the fourth prince's manor if given a chance.

And now, with Scumbag 2's birthday banquet approaching, his chance was here, bringing along with it Yan Zheyun's chance to escape from the Wu Household.

A small, distracted smile played on his lips as he made his way through the gardens towards the guest residence he'd been assigned to. Dressed like a scholar once more and with his otherworldly features, he looked like an immortal that had descended to meander through the maze of the human world, instead of a mere slave. The female servants around him blushed and whispered, and the guards stationed around the compound found their gazes inexplicably drawn to him.

He noticed, of course, hypersensitive as always of unwanted attention on him. But he paid them no heed. The desire to possess him was an inconvenience that he was fated to live with for the rest of his life, or at least for as long as he remained in Yan Yun's body. Yan Zheyun had since made up his mind that he was going to learn to use it as a weapon.

That score he'd painstakingly written for Meng Die hadn't solely been referring to her.

An unassailable position. Yan Zheyun thought about it again and his smile widened. A passing manservant on the winding corridors tripped over himself and went sprawling.

He wasn't aiming for Scumbag 2, of course not. Perhaps a little bit of light bondage between two consensual parties was fine, but Scumbag 2's idea of fun was a bit too...unorthodox in tastes for him. Not to mention that because Scumbag 2 was the fourth prince, he seemed to have very loose ideas regarding the concept of consent.

Yan Zheyun wasn't into that, thank you very much. But there was someone else that was going to be present at the birthday banquet that he could be into.

Wu Shengqi had said that the emperor would personally be hosting it on behalf of the fourth prince. Personally, if this wasn't a test of some sort that the emperor had prepared for Scumbag 2, then the old man had to be pretty blind to the flaws of his family. But that didn't matter to Yan Zheyun. More importantly, this was Yan Zheyun's only shot of grabbing some big, golden dragon thighs.

He remembered from Yan Lixin's descriptions of 'Hurt Me in a Million Ways', that the emperor was just a figure in the background. A convenient wallflower that could be wielded like a plot device for the author as and when convenient, before being popped back into the storeroom when all the 'papapaing' between the MC and MLs started.

But Yan Lixin had also once complained that the emperor was such a good ruler and a decent man, it made no sense that he wouldn't have picked up on Scumbag 2's treachery. And that it was a huge plot hole to have someone so wise foolishly give someone so evil the throne.

So. The emperor was a good ruler? He was a decent man? That made him a pair of satisfactory big thighs in Yan Zheyun's eyes, especially since beggars couldn't be choosers and as the new protagonist of 'Hurt Me in a Million Ways', there was no one poorer than Yan Zheyun when it came to non-crazy human beings.

He was going to seduce the emperor. Even if he was an ugly elderly gentleman who could be Yan Zheyun's grandfather. Yan Zheyun was confident enough in his looks that he believed a bit of effort would make this a possibility. He'd since noticed a peculiar effect of Yan Yun's protagonist halo. The more powerful a man was, the more his desire to possess this host body seemed to be amplified. To them, having Yan Zheyun dangle off their arms would be like flaunting their ownership of their spoils of war, which everyone else coveted.

And as for what happened after…well. Yan Zheyun was already caught up in this web. He had to choose between getting torn to pieces by many small spiders or surrendering to one big one, who would hopefully be gentler.

Good. Decent. He reminded himself of these adjectives repeatedly. None of the scumbag gongs could have these adjectives applied to them. If Yan Zheyun was going to have to succumb to his role as a submissive shou to protect himself, then it only made sense to be picky in the ways he could afford to be. The emperor was the most powerful and, as far as he could see, was of impeccable character. Sure, he was a bit old, but there was still a silver lining to that right?

Compared to the scumbag gongs and their '7 times a night', an old man might manage…'7 times a month'? A year, if Yan Zheyun was lucky?

Not to mention, the emperor's harem was made up entirely of virgins and to protect the emperor's safety, the chances of him going out to solicit prostitutes was near zero. Yan Zheyun, who had a very real fear of STDs, could take comfort in this fact. At least he wasn't Scumbag 2, who was probably disease-riddled by now.

If worst came to worst and something did go wrong…Yan Zheyun would have access to the imperial physicians.

Yes, this might not be the most sound plan Yan Zheyun had ever concocted but he didn't have much to work with so he was going to have to go ahead with it.

Since the fourth prince wanted him to join the family so badly, Yan Zheyun was happy to indulge. But he didn't want to be a plaything, he was keener on being the new stepmom.

——————————

There were no servants in the emperor's bedchambers in Qianqing Palace. The little rascal, the ninth prince, was conspicuously absent today as well, having been carried out in peaceful slumber by his caretakers under the head eunuch's orders.

It was strange for such an important room to be completely empty, but if one were to take a closer look, one would notice that a row of decorative lacquer boxes at the head of the dragon bed, had been shifted out of their usual order.

These lacquer boxes were more than just containers. They were also levers that controlled a complicated series of gear mechanisms that concealed the hidden room under the floor, its doorway concealed behind a grand painting of mountains and rivers on the wall at the far end.

This hidden room had been designed by Liu Yao's grandfather, as a safe house for the emperor if a rebellion took place in the capital. It had once been fully empty besides for necessary survival supplies but Liu Yao had added in some sparse furniture in that same bamboo style that he found so nostalgic.

However, because there wasn't enough lighting down here, the flames from sconces on the wall flickered eerily, landing the dark room the feel of a tomb instead. Liu Yao didn't mind. In a way, this was a memorial hall to him.

He sat in a chair now, carved in a simple imperial tutor style, and placed just next to a large portrait with incense burning in front of it.

In front of him knelt three members of the Brocade Guard, and to his left stood Cao Mingbao. The head eunuch was still wearing his servant's attire, which paled in comparison to the blood-red uniforms of the guards on the ground. But no one in this room, even the emperor, would underestimate him. Cao Mingbao's usual placid smile was gone, replaced with a sharp, venomous edge that reminded all his subordinates that this jovial middle-aged eunuch could be as deadly as a viper if he needed to.

And this was why he wasn't just the head eunuch, he was also Chief of the Eastern Depot.

The Eastern Depot, which had control of the Brocade Guard. They were the eyes and ears of the emperor, as well as the hands and legs when something untoward needed to be done but the emperor didn't want to get his hands dirty.

And as their chief, Cao Mingbao had near-complete control of their operations. Although, to ask him to supervise this latest mission that Liu Yao had assigned was a bit of a waste of resources.

But Liu Yao had done it anyway. He wasn't sure why he was so invested in this investigation, enough so that he would cross the Chu-Han river with his most powerful chess-piece, but he didn't trust anyone else to get this job done, especially when it concerned a potential new weakness for Liu Yao that he couldn't let his enemies find out about.

"Report back, quickly."

The leader of the team saluted. "In response to Your Majesty and the chief, this subordinate discovered that, following the failed attempt to gift his manservant to the fourth prince, Compiler Wu's relationship with the fourth prince has soured and the fourth prince has pulled some strings within the Hanlin Academy to make Compiler Wu's life difficult."

"Oh?" Liu Yao raised an eyebrow. "Are the strings in the Hanlin Academy that easy to pull? This sovereign was under the impression that these scholars were all of noble mind." He was being ironic, of course. He knew better than most just how petty the civil officials that entered court from the academy could be. They had the duty to criticise the emperor's decisions and behaviour, and often took advantage of this to try and pressurise Liu Yao into implementing policies that favoured their camps.

"…this subordinate doesn't know. Our spies in the Wu Household have clarified, however, that the Minister of Rites is planning on gifting that same manservant to the fourth prince during His Highness' birthday banquet."

Liu Yao leaned back in his seat. The smile on his face didn't reach his eyes. Should he be thankful that he'd assigned more people to the Wu Household to collect intel? After bumping into that manservant at Meiyue Tower and finding out by coincidence that Compiler Wu had visited the place, he'd made this decision purely as a precaution. To make sure that he wouldn't be caught unawares by any potential enemies. But now it seemed he was making use of his network for a different reason instead.

The boy's face flashed unbidden to his mind again. Wet fluttering lashes, plush reddened lips, and quiet needy gasps that echoed in Liu Yao's dreams in the dead of the night.

This boy was the cause of the falling out between the fourth prince and his principal graduate Compiler Wu? They would throw aside their ambitions for a mere servant?

Liu Yao could see why. Even he, famed for his perseverance, had lost control over himself during that carriage ride.

He dismissed the Brocade Guard and shared a long look with Cao Mingbao.

"Your Majesty," Cao Mingbao said. There was something in his tone that made Liu Yao's eyes narrow. Even though Cao Mingbao didn't voice his concerns, Liu Yao knew what they were. He shook his head.

"If this sovereign's royal younger brother cannot behave properly, then he only has himself to blame." Liu Yao wasn't going to kill an innocent boy just for being beautiful. "It seems like this sovereign's wise teacher was right again. Liu Wei is less suitable for the throne than this sovereign once thought."

"In which case, what does Your Majesty plan on doing about the banquet?"

Liu Yao had considered cancelling it as punishment but now it could suit another purpose. He wanted to see what Liu Wei would do, wanted to take the opportunity to monitor Liu Wei's behaviour when mingling with all the dignified guests. Ambition was admirable but Liu Yao would not accept a crown prince that could throw away his principles to further his interests. Bribing officials in the Hanlin Academy to bully others, promising illegal promotions in exchange for bed pleasures, these were all mistakes that Liu Yao shouldn't and didn't condone.

"Continue with the arrangements," Liu Yao decided. "This sovereign wants to see Minister of Rites Wu's gift with his own eyes."

He didn't look at Cao Mingbao anymore, waving him out as a silent expression of his desire to be left alone.

Once Cao Mingbao exited and the safehouse's door slid back into place with a low gravelly thud, Liu Yao allowed himself to look at the portrait hanging on the wall.

Dark phoenix eyes looked back at him with eternal ice in their depths. Because paintings couldn't replace the real person, whose frosty demeanour would melt whenever he caught sight of Liu Yao, piercing gaze gentling with a spark of delight that never failed to steal the breath from Liu Yao's lungs.

He covered his tired face with a hand.

"I'm still waiting," he whispered to no one. "But you've been gone for so long."