Content Warning: dog attack, animal death (neither are exceedingly graphic depictions)
10 Years Ago
Imperial City
Palace of the Clear Mind (Grand Empress Dowager’s Residence)
Li Changyu – 12, Jin Xiyan – 14
Li Changyu’s legs swayed as he relaxed against the perch in the small plum blossom tree. He used his crossed arms behind his head as a pillow, eyes shut as he enjoyed the soft Spring breeze. The smell of the plum blossoms tickled his nose and pulled him into a semi-sleepy state. That was until a little pebble hit him square in the nose.
“Ow!” Li Changyu’s eyes opened and crossed to look at his own nose. He sat upright and rubbed it while looking down at the offender.
Jin Xiyan, the Crown Prince, had another pebble in his hand prepared. He dropped it immediately when Li Changyu shot him a glare, but his grin spread from ear to ear.
“I caught a plum in a tree,” he said, violet eyes twinkling. “What are you even doing up there?”
Li Changyu dropped forward and swung his legs up to lay along the branch on his side. He held his head propped up on an elbow. “I have the day off today and wanted to think about plum blossoms.”
“Mm, it looks more like you’re taking a nap.” Jin Xiyan walked until he was directly under the branch. He craned his head back to look up at Li Changyu. “Sad about First Brother moving?”
“Yes and no,” Li Changyu admitted. Today the First Prince left to join their Husband’s post in the South, taking his son with him. He acted as one of the guards for the Prince for about four years, and even witnessed the birth of his firstborn. “I will be guarding Her Highness the Grand Empress Dowager until my Father calls for me. But it means I don’t have to babysit any–MORE!”
Gravity pitched Li Changyu backward but he tried to quickly counter it by leaning forward, which still led him to fall out of the tree. He let out a yelp, and Jin Xiyan matched it with a cry of his own as he held out his arms in order to catch Li Changyu. The pair fell against the grass with a loud OOF! and Jin Xiyan groaned from underneath him.
Li Changyu froze on top of Jin Xiyan. Their faces were centimeters apart, close enough that he could see the soft curl of Jin Xiyan’s eyelashes as they blinked up at him. Jin Xiyan’s lips parted, bringing Li Changyu’s awareness to how close they were. Like this, I could… Coals couldn’t burn as hot as Li Changyu’s cheeks did at that moment. Jin Xiyan stared at Li Changyu with wide eyes, but his shocked expression quickly morphed into a pained one.
“Changyu…” he wheezed, ”You’re…on my stomach…”
“Ah!” Li Changyu sat upright, digging himself further into Jin Xiyan’s abdomen before he flung himself to the side. He hopped to his feet and pulled on Jin Xiyan’s arm to help him up. “Quick, get up! Do you need a physician? You have to say you were the one to fall out of the tree, or they’ll hang me at the front gates!”
Jin Xiyan coughed a few times as he stood. He brushed himself off with his free hand and said, “Don’t say things like that!”
Li Changyu rolled his eyes at the Prince, “It’s the truth! Do you need a physician or not?”
“I do not,” Jin Xiyan stared into Li Changyu’s eyes, freezing him in place. He stood perfectly still as Jin Xiyan lifted a hand and touched the crown of his head. “I would never let any official hurt you, alright? No matter what.”
They were just about even in height, so when Jin Xiyan leaned forward, Li Changyu’s heart sped up. Thankfully – or regretfully – Jin Xiyan stopped before he got too close. His dark eyes squinted, and he said, “Hold on. You have a bunch of petals in your hair.”
“Oh, haha!” Li Changyu laughed nervously, but stood still like asked. Jin Xiyan plucked a few petals from Li Changyu’s short braid and dropped them, letting them flutter to the ground. He kept his eyes glued to the ground until Jin Xiyan stepped back.
“There.” He dared to look up and caught Jin Xiyan’s easy going smile. “All done.”
Why does he have to be here, acting all cute? Li Changyu shifted his weight from foot to foot, then stiffened once again when he remembered the Prince’s schedule today. A large mallet hit a gong in his head.
“Wait! What are you doing here?” He grabbed Jin Xiyan’s sleeve, “Aren’t you supposed to be having lunch with the Emperor?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Jin Xiyan’s cheeks turned into plum blossoms themselves, the pink stark against his normal pallor. “A-ah…um…well…it was a meeting to discuss my Wife.”
Wife…Wife…Wife…The word echoed inside Li Changyu. He pressed his lips together to keep them shut, because he would have either insulted the Prince or confessed his feelings right there. He didn’t know it was love until he spoke with his Mother.
He went to her and complained about chest pain, not feeling hungry, thinking about someone constantly. Li Changyu expected it to be some sort of illness that she could treat, but she just laughed at him and explained that the only illness he was suffering from was lovesickness.
Normally, it was easy to avoid the fact that Jin Xiyan would one day be Emperor and expected to have heirs. Which meant he’d have wives…who would have his babies…
“And?” He huffed, annoyed both at himself and his silly feelings and at Jin Xiyan for being the handsome idiot he loved. “Still doesn’t answer why you are here and not there!”
“I do not want some random Princess as my Wang Fei!” Jin Xiyan groaned and went towards the tree to lean against it. He dragged his palms over his face and looked at Li Changyu between his fingers. His voice, though muffled, sounded miserable. “She’s some tribute from one of the vassal states.”
Li Changyu kept his distance away, twirling the end of his braid around his finger where it rested against his shoulder. “So…is she pretty?”
Jin Xiyan snorted, then dropped his hands. “Beautiful, but…not all there. She didn’t even get my joke about the turtle.”
“That’s because no one finds that joke funny but you,” teased Li Changyu.
“You laughed at it!”
Jin Xiyan’s indignant tone made Li Changyu laugh. “Because it was silly that you thought it was a good joke!”
“What’s going on back there?” The Grand Empress Dowager’s voice called out in the distance, and both of the boys went on alert. If they were caught, it’d most likely mean a punishment for either of them.
Li Changyu grabbed Jin Xiyan’s wrist and pulled him along. “Quick! To the wall!”
They broke out into a run, heading towards the back wall of the garden. Jin Xiyan shifted his grip and weaved his fingers in between Li Changyu’s to hold onto his hand as they ran side by side. Warmth radiated from his hold and Li Changyu’s palm began to sweat, but Jin Xiyan didn’t let go.
Li Changyu was the first to break contact, and his whole arm felt the loss of it deeply, the limb going cold. Going into a horse stance, Li Changyu locked his hands together and held them out for the Prince to step into. “Hop up and go down. We can cut across and go to the training yard.”
Jin Xiyan lifted his foot into his hands and both worked together to boost him up and over the wall. Li Changyu took a few steps backward to give himself enough distance to run. With a quick wall run, he was up and over onto the other side of the wall. He landed in a crouch, but Jin Xiyan was rubbing his backside.
“Ow…” he grumbled, and Li Changyu burst out laughing.
It was only a short walk to the training yard where the guards lived and worked out. Li Changyu lived with a group of older alpha guards who weren’t as rude as the ones his age or in their early years. They were also friends with his Shizun and Commander of the Guard, Xu Wei. Shizun was in the middle of teaching drills with some of the younger trainees.
Li Changyu puffed out his chest when they drew near, “I remember when I was their age.”
Jin Xiyan poked him in the side of his ribs, “It was four years ago. Of course you’d remember it.”
He huffed, “Don’t make fun of me.”
“You make it very hard not to – it’s very fun!” Jin Xiyan’s grin was big enough to make the dimple in his cheek pinch. Li Changyu’s heart skipped a beat.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Ping Feng, his Shixiong and a son of a family friend, stepped in their way. He cast a suspicious eye on Li Changyu, but bowed appropriately to Jin Xiyan. “Your Highness. Pardon this humble servant for saying so, but it is dangerous for you to be around the training yard. Also…” He squinted at Li Changyu again. “You shouldn’t be unsupervised with an alpha all alone.”
Li Changyu arched a brow and raised one leg to swiftly kick Ping Feng in the center of his chest. When he coughed and staggered back, Li Changyu snatched Shixiong’s wooden staff and knocked one end on the top of his head.
“What was that about me being unsupervised?” He smirked. Ping Feng growled and rubbed his head while reaching for his staff. Li Changyu handed it back with a shrug. “I think I’m perfectly safe. Besides, it’s His Highness!”
“This is not to insult His Highness,” Ping Feng bowed once again. “I promised the Li’s to look after Changyu. He’s almost at the age where he’d have his first heat, and…well…It would be improper.”
Jin Xiyan blushed, his eyes shifting to the ground with a nervous smile. “Ah…I guess, um, I never really thought about that?”
Li Changyu’s neck was hot and his face felt flush. He lunged forward to punch Ping Feng in the arm, and he yelped in response.
“How dare you say these things in front of His Highness!” He followed that up with another punch that Ping Feng blocked. “Besides, I’ll be a million miles away when that happens! I’ll probably be fighting some battle with Papa by then.”
Jin Xiyan’s softly spoken oh quieted Li Changyu down. He turned and saw that Jin Xiyan had a small frown on his face and his gaze avoided him still. “That’s right…you want to join the military, don’t you?”
Li Changyu scuffed the toe of his boot against the ground, “Well–”
“You couldn’t stay here?” Jin Xiyan blurted out, interrupting him. “In the Palace, I mean…”
“I’m an omega,” Li Changyu felt a little uncomfortable reminding the Prince this, even though it was a simple biological fact. “I can’t serve in the Palace for much longer…”
It was a miracle that he was even allowed to be here to begin with. It was allowed by the Emperor, who simply said “I suppose it is in every Li’s nature to have a fighting spirit.” But Li Changyu understood this was a small window of training. He was almost Jin Xiyan’s age, where he’d have to worry about his first heat. Omegas who weren’t concubines or in the harem didn’t exist.
Jin Xiyan’s forlorn expression squeezed his heart. He gave Ping Feng a glare – it was his fault after all for upsetting the Prince! To turn this around quickly, Li Changyu put on a big smile and cheerfully added, “Besides, it makes the most sense. I can best serve His Highness when he’s the Emperor by making sure the country is safe! You want your best men out there, don’t you?”
His face didn’t change by much, but there was less of a frown turning down Jin Xiyan’s lips. Instead, there was a serious expression that furrowed his long brows together enough that a groove formed between them. Li Changyu’s belly flopped about like a fish. If he can look this intimidating when not speaking, just imagine what he’d be like when he’s the Emperor…
The silence was much too uncomfortable for Li Changyu, so he stuck his tongue out at Ping Feng and grabbed the Prince’s hand once more. “We’re leaving. Don’t follow along.”
Before Shixiong could protest, Li Changyu led Jin Xiyan towards the murky lotus pond in the back. It was a good distance away from the barracks where they wouldn’t be disturbed. Once at the edge of the water, Li Changyu let go of Jin Xiyan and bent down to find a decently flat rock to skip. During his search, he said;
“You should pick a smart Wife, because you’re going to be the Emperor.” Li Changyu picked up a particularly good rock and smoothed his thumb over the top. Jin Xiyan joined his side and turned over a few rocks as well.
“Father Emperor says the harem doesn’t need to be smart, just that they need to balance the court and help make heirs.” Jin Xiyan’s fingers dipped into the water and he picked up a wet stone that was good for skipping.
Li Changyu barked out a laugh and stood. “Sure, let them pop out some babies, but you’re going to need someone smart enough to keep you honest. Besides, you’re going to have to live with them for the rest of your life – you don’t want someone boring!”
Jin Xiyan rose just as Li Changyu wound up his arm to toss his stone. It made five skips before it finally sank. He turned to Jin Xiyan in order to watch his throw, but Jin Xiyan just held the rock tightly in his fist. He could faintly hear a strange sound in the distance, so he only half paid attention to what Jin Xiyan said next.
“Changyu, about you leaving for the military–”
“Shh!” He put a finger to Jin Xiyan’s lips and canted his head to better listen. Something was rustling around, and it was getting closer. Li Changyu looked around carefully and reached for his sword on instinct, but cursed to himself. He wasn’t carrying it because it was his day off, so he only had his fists. He tugged on Jin Xiyan’s sleeve, “Let’s head back to the barracks, there’s something out there.”
Something large and grey burst out through a thicket of long grass beside the pond. Li Changyu dropped into a fighting stance, prepared for anything, but it was just one of the First Prince’s large dogs. He noticed Jin Xiyan stiffening, and Li Changyu knew the Prince never liked dogs since he was a small child after getting bit by one. He placed a hand on Jin Xiyan’s shoulder to give a reassuring squeeze.
“Don’t worry, it’s one of your Brother’s. But why is it here?” It was strange that he was left behind. Perhaps he ran off, and they couldn’t look for him? The First Prince did leave in a hurry.
The dog’s lip curled and revealed his large, sharp teeth with saliva dripping down his thick jowls. It’s ears were pinned back, tail pointed low, and it’s shoulders bristled. It growled low and menacing, and Jin Xiyan’s hands started to tremble. Growing uneasy, Li Changyu put himself between the dog and Jin Xiyan.
“Your Highness, let’s slowly walk back,” he said while nudging Jin Xiyan in the ribs with his elbow.
Before Li Changyu could lift his foot to take a step backward, the dog launched itself toward them. His skills made him quick, so he was able to knock Jin Xiyan away and raised his other arm to protect his face and throat from the dog’s large open jaw. It’s paws landed on Li Changyu’s chest, knocking him back while its teeth sank into his arm.
He cried out as pain zinged up through his arm and he landed flat on his back. Blood gushed into the dog’s mouth, staining its teeth red, and it whipped its head side to side. Thinking fast, Li Changyu punched it on the nose and jabbed his thumb into one of its bright yellow eyes. The dog yelped and clawed at Li Changyu, shredding the front of his shirt into near ribbons. With another stab in the eye, the dog let go of his arm and gave a high pitched bark.
Li Changyu wrestled with the dog on the ground, becoming a large pile of snarling and dust as he tried to pin it down and wrap his good arm around it’s throat.
“Heel!” He yelled, but the dog would not obey. “Heel!”
The dog snapped at his face and he narrowly avoided gnashing teeth. His gut clenched at the thought of what he’d have to do next, but if Li Changyu were to protect Jin Xiyan and keep his own neck, he had to do it. He managed to get on top and wrapped his limbs around the beast, and like his Shizun showed him, he snapped its neck.
The dog went limp in his hold and he quickly dropped it and scurried away on his backside. Pain radiated up his arm and spine, and he knew his wounds were serious. Li Changyu finally looked over to Jin Xiyan, who sat on the ground, his face as white as a funeral robe and sweat poured down his face.
“Xiyan…” He called to him, then a little louder. “Xiyan! Snap out of it!”
That seemed to do the trick because Jin Xiyan blinked and shook his head. He shot up to his feet and hurried over to Li Changyu before dropping back down to the ground.
“Your Highness, go get–mmph!”
Jin Xiyan pressed his open mouth against Li Changyu’s lips. Li Changyu’s heart stopped, all of his meridians firing off at once from the contact, making stars light up behind his eyes. Jin Xiyan pushed a breath into Li Changyu’s mouth followed by a sweep of his tongue that brushed against Li Changyu’s. Then Jin Xiyan pushed in deeper and appalled, Li Changyu shoved Jin Xiyan back.
When they parted, he shouted, “What was that for?!”
“Sch-sch-scholar Mo Yu said emergency breaths help in a crisis!” Jin Xiyan stammered as his eyes lowered to Li Changyu’s injured arm. Now he turned green.
“That’s for drowning, you idiot!” He wished he could slug Jin Xiyan in the face for that weird kiss. “Go get Commander Xu and the others!”
“No!” Jin Xiyan yelled and he ripped off a piece of his outer robe. Li Changyu gasped, but Jin Xiyan ignored his warnings and wrapped up Li Changyu’s arm in the expensive silk.
Li Changyu tugged on the sash around his own waist, “Quick, help me take this off. I need to stop the bleeding.”
They both made quick work of it and Li Changyu wrapped the sash around his bicep and with the help of his teeth, cinched it tight until he winced. He tried to stand, but Jin Xiyan scooped him up first. He thrashed around until Jin Xiyan scolded him.
“Stop moving or I’ll drop you!” He yelled and carried him while running back towards the barracks.
Li Changyu had no fight left in him, so he stayed still and strangely enjoyed being held like this. He slowed his breathing to try and relax his rapidly beating heart, but being this close he could smell Jin Xiyan’s scent, which was like warm spices. He turned his nose towards him, almost burying it against Jin Xiyan’s chest.
“Don’t fall asleep, Changyu! Changyu!”
“That was my first kiss,” he murmured and his eyelids drooped. “You better…take…responsibility…”
“Changyu!”
Not that much of a bastard when he was a kid… 🤔
JXY is a SWEET BABY BOY
came back because I forgot
IT WAS THE FAMOUS FIRST KISS 😚😚
EMERGENCY BREATH!!!! IM SCREAMING 😂
LOOK. IT WAS AN EMERGENCY.
A BREATH WAS INVOLVED.
IT IS A THING.
Now I k now what to say in case I panic and accidentally kiss someone ☺
Whats wrong with the dog… ? Poisoned?? Imma find out.. Also THE FIRST KISS-
(ﾟοﾟ人))
Awwww JXY was so sweet boy