From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 216: Waiting for the Spark

The rudimentary braziers burned at the setting of the sun, blazing in brass pans propped up upon wooden stands around the encampment. Back in the capital, the early spring flowers would be blossoming by now but it felt like nothing could warm up the chilly northern borders. Despite the military budget being approved at an appropriate time this year, despite having armour that was suitably padded to help ward off the biting cold, the patrolling soldiers still pressed together in a tight herd, as though this would provide a modicum of warmth.

This year, the new year had come and gone, but because of the tensions between the tribes and Great Ye, none of them had been relieved from their posts and reunion with their families had been nothing more than a pipe dream.

But no one thought to complain. After all, their great general’s son was still held as an imperial hostage back in the capital and hadn’t sent so much as a letter to wish his father a prosperous spring festival.

Not that Great General Pan seemed to mind. As a fair and just commander, he had never once asked for luxuries above his station or given himself special privileges above that of a common soldier. He’d never shirked from military punishments either; word had reached the northern army about their general’s supposed ’involvement’ in the assassination attempt on the emperor during the Autumn Hunt and every last man under his guidance would be the first to vouch that there was no one more loyal to the young crown prince who had once marched amongst their ranks than Great General Pan. However, as a result of the incrimination against him, Great General Pan hadn’t pulled rank to avoid the hundred lashes, which by decree was the payment for his oversight.

He’d taken the whipping in front of the entire army upon arrival, as evidence that no one, not even the highest-ranked commander in the north, was to be spared from punishment if he made a mistake.

If it weren’t for the Chief of the Western Depot intervening on imperial behalf with a written edict stating that Great General Pan was to be pardoned as any severe injuries would impede him from performing his duties of guarding the north.

This was evidence enough to everyone present that despite the assassination attempt, the emperor still trusted Great General Pan. And as long as Great General Pan hadn’t lost imperial favour, the northern army that fought under his banner still wielded indisputable power and influence in the region.

As mentioned previously, Great General Pan was not one to accord himself a lavish lifestyle while his soldiers froze in the evening wind outside. Hence, the commander’s tent, whilst situated in the middle of the encampment, was usually rather basically furnished with nothing more than a low desk for him to complete paperwork on, a simple brazier to ward off the night’s cold, and a fur pallet for him to collapse upon after a hard day of fieldwork.

Now, however, someone else’s presence had taken over.

Liu Suzhi was no military man, had not been exiled to the north, was not bound by any rules and regulations except for that of the emperor. And that young man he’d had a hand in raising had sent him here with only one purpose in mind. The court officials might have thought that Liu Suzhi was here in the north as a symbol of the eunuch faction’s political authority. That he was here as the emperor’s hawk, to keep a beady watch on the northern army and ensure that they didn’t have to guts to betray the throne.

But no one else knew that the night before the western depot had departed, Liu Suzhi had been summoned by a secret missive to Tianlu Pavilion where he’d met with the emperor in a private audience.

"Keep him alive by all means necessary," Emperor Xuanjun had ordered. "And make sure you stay alive too, don’t let the old man have the satisfaction of claiming you in the afterworld."

Liu Suzhi had laughed at that. "If this servant manages to fulfil this colossal task Your Majesty places upon my fragile shoulders, what reward should I expect?"

"I’ll personally ensure that my father bestows his imperial blessing upon your marriage."

Liu Suzhi didn’t understand what that meant but the underlying message was clear. Survive this last war and there was nothing that could keep them apart anymore. For decades, he’d kept himself away from the north on purpose, not trusting that he wouldn’t become a stain on the great general’s reputation. And even after Pan Yuze had told him in no uncertain terms that he would choose Liu Suzhi over leaving a flawless name behind in history, Liu Suzhi had still maintained an uncertainty that had plagued him for years - that he wouldn’t bring ruin to the only person living whom he still loved more than life itself.

After all, he’d played a direct hand—nay, in fact, he’d engineered the death of the late emperor and he had lived long enough in the treacherous upper echelons of Great Ye to know the concept of ’casting aside the bow once the birds are all killed’ (1). For the longest time, he’d resided in Wushan Palace, a wraith haunting its empty halls, waiting for Emperor Xuanjun to find the perfect way to rid himself of someone who knew one of the biggest imperial secrets; the beloved crown prince of Great Ye had collaborated with the dirtiest eunuch in the imperial palace to murder his imperial father and steal his throne.

He had believed that it was Pan Yuze’s presence in the north, which had stayed Liu Yao’s hand.

But after that night, after the emperor had, in a moment of weakness, let Liu Suzhi see that he truly cared for the great general as one might a beloved uncle, a respected mentor, Liu Suzhi began to believe once more that there was a future for the both of them after all.

"Why are you lying here lost in thought and dressed in so little? If you catch a cold now, where am I supposed to find an imperial physician to tend to you?"

A warm hand slid over the jut of Liu Suzhi’s hip bone, moulding itself perfectly as though it had been crafted by the gods to fit there. Through the sheer red underrobe that he liked to wear to bed, he could feel the hard callouses on Pan Yuze’s hand rubbing over his skin, leaving sparks in its wake.

He let out a satisfied sigh and set the military records he’d been perusing aside so that he could better wrap his arms around the neck of his beloved and bequest his mouth.

What an emperor had spent over a decade seizing by force was relinquished willingly to the right person. Pan Yuze pressed one more kiss to the pair of lips that had driven an entire morning court crazy with its barbed jibes before he pulled back and got back to his feet. Liu Suzhi followed suit, rising to help him unfasten his armour.

This was what he’d used to imagine doing back in his youth, having the right to remain by his Big Brother Pan’s side to remove plate after plate, waving the younger soldiers who often were assigned valet tasks aside while exercising his right as the most intimate person to their general.

"Any news?" Pan Yuze asked, even as he shrugged out of his sweat-slicked undershirt and started cleaning himself up perfunctorily with cloth and a pan of warm water he’d carried tucked under an arm.

Liu Suzhi took the cloth from him to assist with his back. They had an understanding between them that spanned decades of pining and cherishing—no matter how many years they’d spent apart, a day hadn’t gone where the other hadn’t taken a stroll through their minds, whether it be in the fleeting idle moments before falling asleep in a smoke-filled chamber or the hair-raising pause when an enemy blade came too close to striking into the heart. There was no need for long explanations between them.

Liu Suzhi hummed as he massaged soothing circles into the knots of tightly wound muscle in the strong tanned back before him. A whole day spent on horseback was nothing for a seasoned soldier but it didn’t change the fact that what was effortless at twenty summers couldn’t be taken for granted anymore, that Pan Yuze wasn’t young anymore. Neither of them were.

"It seems like the plans have already been put into place but they’re just missing the flame to set the beacon on fire."

Pan Yuze was a confident man. It was often mistaken for arrogance—Liu Suzhi knew that even the great general’s foolish son understood it to be so—but he had every reason to be. His father, and his father’s father before him, had all died on this very soil he guarded with his very soul. It wasn’t just the blood of his most loyal subordinates that had been sacrificed to keep Great Ye safe; his own blood stained the barren land underfoot, land that so many of the spoiled noble louts back in the capital deemed worthless because those who were too poor to do anything but stay here weren’t deemed worthy of protection in their eyes.

But Pan Yuze loved them the way a military commander should. And he had taught this love to their emperor. He had shown that young lost boy who had rode into battle by his side the value of being a leader, had taught him just why he needed to know the north intricately, the insides and outs, so that he could better tuck it under his wing, within his maws, like a dragon jealously guarding its pearl.

"The skirmishes this winter have been nothing more than feeble attempts at assessing our strength," Pan Yuze concluded. His tone was unbothered, as though he didn’t truly see the barbarians as a threat, but Liu Suzhi knew that he wasn’t underestimating them. "They have concealed their true intentions very well; if I didn’t know better, I would have been fooled into thinking that this was part of their regular raiding pattern."

But they had insider knowledge in the form of that pretty northern prince that Guard Wu had nearly died rescuing.

A month or two ago, when the scouts patrolling the nearby mountain ridges had brought back the beautiful green-eyed boy who had clung to the unconscious body whom Liu Suzhi had recognised as a guard he’d seen once or twice in the inner palace, Liu Suzhi had known this was more than a simple mission gone wrong. True enough, the North had wasted no time at all to declare war on Great Ye for the murder of their royal family but despite the heated verbal exchange, the situation on the war front hadn’t heated up that much. The raids were still taking place but there was a lot more bark than bite into it, as though they were testing the waters...or biding their time.

For whatever reason.

The bloodshed was imminent, they all understood that. It was just a matter of time. And word from the emperor seemed to imply that the final straw was in the capital and not here in the military tents.

An inside job and it even seemed like the emperor had an inkling as to who was involved. Liu Suzhi had to scoff at that. There was a reason why Emperor Xuanjun had ascended to the throne despite the best efforts of his brothers.

"Ah Xi has been distracted the whole night."

Liu Suzhi blinked at Pan Yuze, his musings about how the emperor was going to ignite the fires of war all but flying out of his head as a hand traced its way slowly up his thigh. His Big Brother Pan, once one of the most noble of all aristocrats, had left his upbringing behind when he’d left for the north more than a decade ago. Now, that same beloved face still looked up at Liu Suzhi in adoration but there was a roguish honesty to his desire that melted the ice in Liu Suzhi’s veins.

Tonight would be another night spent gasping into the fur that he twisted beneath writhing hands, bodies entwined around each other, tormented by pleasure as they sought to heat each other’s skin and hearts.

Another day, he’ll remember to ask his Big Brother Pan what he would do it turned out the emperor had no intention of sparing his son. Liu Suzhi wanted to be prepared, after all. He had no intention of going against the most powerful man in the kingdom so he would just have to find a way to ensure Pan Yuze didn’t have to make a choice they would both regret.