Chapter 024 Royal Banquet 03

Chapter 024: Imperial Banquet 03

Wei Qing hoisted Zhou Younan onto his shoulder and carried him upstairs again.

He kicked the door open, then shut it with a single foot, his movements fluid and seamless.

Zhou Younan’s face paled with panic. This posture, he thought, boded ill.

Thrown onto the soft bed, Zhou Younan pleaded softly, "Wei Qing, it's daytime."

"Daytime means seeing more clearly." Wei Qing buried his face in Zhou Younan's neck, inhaling deeply. "You smell so good."

Light, teasing kisses dotted his sensitive neck, tickling slightly.

"Wei Qing, don't..." Zhou Younan tried to push him away.

With a sudden roll, Zhou Younan found himself on top of Wei Qing.

"This is your punishment, Zhou Younan."

His rough voice held a dangerous edge.

"I won't next time—"

"Hah." Wei Qing let out a low chuckle. "Too late."

With his waist and neck firmly in Wei Qing's grip, Zhou Younan had no choice but to lower his head.

Wei Qing's kisses were always scorching and lingering. Even though Zhou Younan had learned to breathe through them, his rationality still threatened to drown in desire.

Even in this dominant position, he felt completely at Wei Qing's mercy.

"Wait, Wei Qing, I... mmm... have something to say."

"What?"

"I cleaned pork belly today. Shouldn’t I get a reward too? Reward and punishment cancel each other out."

"Oh?" Wei Qing smirked.

"Here, reward and punishment don't cancel each other out. You get both."

Wei Qing's hand slid beneath Zhou Younan's waistband, seizing his vulnerable spot.

Zhou Younan stiffened. "Wei Qing, let... let go..."

Wei Qing pulled him closer. "Shh, don’t move... This is your reward..."

...His vision whited out...

Hazy, Zhou Younan faintly heard Wei Qing mutter, "Damn war games."

Hearing that complaint, Zhou Younan relaxed slightly.

At least Wei Qing still had some rationality left—he hadn’t forgotten about the upcoming military exercise.

Zhou Younan burrowed under the covers like a turtle retreating into its shell.

Yesterday, Wei Qing had made a mess of him. Today, he had made a mess of Wei Qing.

Tit for tat.

...Except it didn’t! In the end, Wei Qing had forced his legs together, calling it punishment... His thighs still stung.

Beast! Total animal!

Zhou Younan seethed inwardly.

"Food's ready." Wei Qing entered the room.

Zhou Younan was about to refuse when a mouthwatering smell hit him.

He had been determined to ignore Wei Qing today, but his stomach gave him away with an audible rumble.

Wei Qing's soft chuckle reached his ears.

Resigned, Zhou Younan sat up obediently, biting back the words "I'm not hungry."

A small wooden table was placed before him, bearing a large bowl of glossy, ruby-red pork and a side of vegetables.

Zhou Younan couldn’t help but inhale deeply—the rich scent made his mouth water.

Wei Qing thrust the meal at him. "Eat."

Zhou Younan was still half-out of it.

This was the first time he'd ever eaten a hot, fragrant meal while sitting in bed.

He glanced at Wei Qing, who was wolfing down the meat. Noticing Zhou Younan's gaze, he tossed a piece into his bowl.

"Red-braised pork. You’ve never had it before, right? It’s delicious."

"Yeah."

Zhou Younan took a bite. It really was amazing—caramelized and savory, the glossy sauce clinging to melt-in-your-mouth meat. Each mouthful was packed with umami.

At twenty years old, this was the best meat he'd ever tasted in his life.

Wei Qing tipped his head, raising an eyebrow. "Good?"

"Very."

"Glad you like it."

After a pause, Wei Qing spoke slowly, "When I was a kid, red-braised pork was my favorite dish. My dad always made me learn how to cook it, saying knowing how to cook would land me a wife someday."

Zhou Younan froze with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth.

Was Wei Qing getting nostalgic?

Wei Qing continued, "Back then, I was too lazy to learn. I just told him he could keep cooking for me—that I’d drag some poor girl home, and his cooking could do the wooing for me."

Zhou Younan looked at him. Wei Qing’s head was slightly bowed, golden hair slipping across his face, hiding his tri-color earring.

"Then my dad would yank my ear. Damn near ripped it off."

Wei Qing gave a quiet laugh.

After a pause, Zhou Younan asked, "What happened next?"

"Later, I was left alone. I could only try to recreate the taste from memory, imitating the way my father cooked. But it never tasted as good as his."

Wei Qing sighed.

"It’s delicious. Wei Qing, I think it’s really good. You’re amazing," Zhou Younan praised sincerely.

"Really? I also think today’s braised pork tastes better than usual."

Wei Qing picked up another piece of meat and placed it in Zhou Younan’s bowl.

"Because you’re here, my wife, eating with me. It tastes even better."

Wei Qing flashed a bright smile, sunlight streaming from behind him. Light glinted in his long golden hair, making him radiant and vibrant. Even the cold, sharp water-drop tattoo in his eyes seemed playful and endearing now.

Zhou Younan lowered his head and took another bite, but his mouth filled with a bitter taste.

After the meal, Wei Qing cleared the small wooden table.

Watching his hair sway as he moved, Zhou Younan lowered his gaze.

Wei Qing was the only one left in his family too.

Just like him.

"Because you’re here, my wife..."

Wei Qing’s words echoed in his mind.

Zhou Younan felt a pang in his heart.

If Wei Qing had remained cruel to him, he could’ve rested easy. But now, Wei Qing was so warm and had opened up to him.

Zhou Younan felt a stab of guilt.

No, no, no. Zhou Younan shook his head.

Wei Qing was on his third marriage—a man who killed his wives. Maybe this was all another act!

*Remember: Wei Qing only liked his pheromones because of the capsule’s effects.*

Zhou Younan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

That afternoon.

Zhou Younan was led by Wei Qing to the second-floor activity room—a vast, bare room.

Wei Qing pressed a button on the wall, and colorful holograms sharpened into focus.

The first thing Zhou Younan saw was a row of neatly dressed mannequins. Their clothes came in every style and hue, some clearly inspired by different planets.

Empire citizens could take starships to shopping malls across different planets to buy clothes, or even visit entire planets dedicated to fashion retail.

Or they could just stay home and use holographic projection and imaging technology to virtually browse stores on different planets and make purchases.

Were they clothes shopping? Why the sudden urge?

Zhou Younan was puzzled.

"Would you like to purchase clothing?" A retail bot materialized in front of them.

"My wife is buying clothes. Scan him," Wei Qing said, pointing at Zhou Younan.

"Acknowledged. Scanning now." The robot paused.

Zhou Younan knew it was using its cameras to scan his body and generate an accurate 3D model.

Once the model was imported into the fitting program, he could skip the fitting room—he could see how each outfit looked on him virtually.

If the customer requested specific environments, the program could also simulate simple scenes.

The pork robot (Wuhuarou) fetched two chairs, a small table, drinks, and a plate of dried fish. After setting them down, it ducked away, avoiding Zhou Younan’s gaze.

Wei Qing popped a fish snack into his mouth.

"I don’t want to buy clothes," Zhou Younan said. "My brother Zhou Mo shipped me a ton of new outfits."

Wei Qing sat on the chair with one leg crossed over the other. "Tomorrow, we’ve got a palace invite. The Emperor’s hosting a dinner with the Nabels."

"Lance Nabel?"

"The Empress is tight with the Nabels. He’s pushing for peace between Wei Qing and the Nabels—‘clearing the air.’"

Empress? Zhou Younan drew a blank. He only knew the current Emperor’s Empress was very low-key and rarely appeared in public.

Wei Qing frowned deeply. "I don’t think there’s any misunderstanding to clear up. Lance Nabel’s face alone pisses me off."

Zhou Younan could tell Wei Qing and Lance Nabel had a terrible relationship.

Was Lance Nabel’s interest in Zhou Mo and the Star Hall one reason, and another his dislike for Wei Qing?

Typical of the Five Founding Families—the Nabels had the guts to mess with Wei Qing.

The shopping robot projected Zhou Younan’s 3D model. "Hello, ready to start the fitting session?"

"Yes. Start with red." Wei Qing tugged Zhou Younan’s hand, forcing him into a chair.

As soon as Zhou Younan sat, he heard Wei Qing’s rapid commands.

"Skip, skip, keep this one, skip, keep this, keep it, skip..."

Zhou Younan only clearly saw the first outfit—a long red trench coat. The rest flashed by too quickly for him to discern anything.

With Wei Qing flipping through two looks a second, could he really be seeing them properly?

Zhou Younan turned to him hesitantly.

Wei Qing perched rigidly, spine ruler-straight, one hand lightly supporting his chin. His lashes swept down like feathers.

Zhou Younan caught a glimpse of—was that elegance?

He looked away fast. Must be seeing things.

Wei Qing blitzed through the red selections and turned to Zhou Younan. "Wanna choose your own?"

"Pass on the red."

"Oh? I like red, yellow, and blue. If you don’t want to pick, then I’ll just buy all my picks."

"Hold on, buying them won’t make me wear them."

"I think you look good in red. You might change your mind later."

Zhou Younan stayed silent. It was Wei Qing’s money anyway—if he wanted to splurge, whatever.

Zhou Younan grabbed his drink and was about to take a sip.

"Total count?" Wei Qing asked the shopping robot.

"Two thousand two hundred forty-nine items. Should we box them all up?"

Hearing the number, Zhou Younan choked on his drink and went into a coughing fit.

"Cough, cough, cough…" He held up a hand, cutting in before Wei Qing. "No, don’t pack them! I’ll choose!"

Wei Qing arched a brow but relented. "Fine, you pick."

A loose, semi-transparent shirt with a plunging neckline appeared on Zhou Younan’s 3D model.

"Mmm, I’m into this one," Wei Qing said suggestively.

Zhou Younan frowned. "No."

They spent all afternoon sorting through clothes in the room. Wei Qing only selected red, yellow, and blue outfits for Zhou Younan, saying they were his top three colors.

Zhou Younan nixed anything off-shoulder, cropped, skin-tight, or too revealing.

Wei Qing didn’t push back. Instead, he asked curiously, "What colors do you usually wear?"

Zhou Younan replied, "Black, white, and gray."

Wei Qing swerved the topic. "I’ve always wanted to be a Grand Marshal."

Zhou Younan was caught off guard. "What?"

Wei Qing scoffed, "The Marshal’s military uniform is black—I don’t like it. The Grand Marshal’s uniform is red, which I love."

The reason he wanted to be a Grand Marshal was because of the uniform’s color?!

Zhou Younan couldn’t hold back a snort.

Wei Qing looked at him, eyes crinkling with amusement. "Since you like black, now I think being a Marshal is pretty good too."

Back to this again?

So damn fickle.

Yet Zhou Younan felt this was just Wei Qing’s way.

He was starting to get used to it.