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“ do you want to know what we talked about?”

“Why do I want to know...?” Wei Yuu repeated his question to himself, his gaze turned sinister “Isn't it obvious? Him getting close to you... Lan-er, you're smart, you should know his intention of getting close to you as well as my behavior towards you” his other hand made its way behind Yan Gen's head, his fingers playing with his silky black hair. “Are you truly dense or do you enjoy being the center of attention of men? Does seeing me running around you fun? That bastard fifth prince, don't tell me you're ignorant of his obsession to you?”

Yan Gen pursed his lips in thin line. Of course, he knows. It's just that he ignored their feelings or rather he refused to acknowledge their feelings to him. Except for Wei Yuu, all of them are dominant, they would rather wrong others than wrong themselves. Someone who's hard to control, he will break if he defy anyone of them.

Whatmore, Yan Gen finds himself getting less and less attracted to beautiful women. Even if he sometimes ‘accidentally’ brush his hands on his pretty maids' bossoms. He was unenthusiastic. It's not that he doesn't want to get attracted to them like he used to, it's just that he can't get attracted to them anymore. So if he acknowledge a man's feelings to him, he might turn into a complete gay, which he absolutely abhors.

Though he knew it, he doesn't want to delve in deeper into it. As of now however, he has to consider the worst possible scenarios and that is getting married to a man. In this case, the best candidate to marry is Wei Yuu.

“If you like me, why didn't you propose to marry me?” Wei Yuu dumbly stared at him for a moment. Completely taken aback by his straightforwardness.

A rumbling laughter echoed in the silent night, it doesn't sound joyful however. Yan Gen who was pressed closed to him can feel the vibration of his laugher. He laughed for a long time Yan Gen thought he's going crazy.

He clutched at Wei Yuu's unwrinkled clean white robe. Embarrassment washed all over him as he asked with a frown “What are you laughting about?”

Wei Yuu smiled a bit, looking down at his cousin's charming red face. He couldn't help himself from leaning down to bite her small protruding nose. He then kissed both of her blushing cheeks, his eyes and his forehead.

Gently at first until his cold lips touched her sweet warm lips. He clinched her jaw to let him gain an entrance and he successfully did. His tongue swirling inside her mouth as he tasted more of her sweetness, the longer he kissed the hungrier he becomes. Before he knew it, his kind and gentle facade he always put up in front of her crumbled. Wei Yuu aggressively kissed her. He bites her lower lip, his agile tongue chased hers, savoring her delectable taste as he deepened his kiss by tilting his head a bit. As he sucked her retreating tongue, the air she's breathing was also sucked out of her.

Yan Gen feels numb, how did it come to this? Why are they kissing inside the carriage? He couldn't move, and his sight is becoming blurry, it feels like he was about to lose consciousness.

Good thing Wei Yuu noticed and he stopped kissing him. His face was still zoomed over him though. Yan Gen noticed that his right hand is now resting at the back of his slender neck while the other one is holding his thin waist. His forehead is resting against his. Both of them are breathless, their heavy hot breath were mixing as they stared at each other. Yan Gen gulped at Wei Yuu's unfamiliar smoldering gaze.

“Say...” Yan Gen started “If... if you like me... Why didn't you propose a marriage to me--I mean, at the Wei main estate” He repeated. Wei Yuu smiled a bit, gradually regaining his calmness. His head slides down to Yan Gen's shoulder and his arms wrapped around him, he took a heavy deep breath, smelling his cousin's fragrance. “You think I didn't?”

In a barely audible voice, Yan Gen unbelievably asked “What?”

“I did asked for your hand but... I was reprimanded instead and was reminded yet again that I shouldn't be selfish, that my desires aren't important compare to my responsibilities, our Wei clan is resting all of its hope on me.”

“So you give up just like that?” Wei Yuu's arms tightend around him when he spat out those words “Of course not. I lived my whole life trying to please the elders and they've been full of praises to me. I then thought that it's time for me to be selfish for once. I can't bear the thought of you marrying someone else, I would never willingly give you up to another man. That's why I decided to asked for someone else's hand, however...” He took another heavy breath and sofly pushed Yan Gen back to his seat “Forget it... it's already too late. It came to a point where I have to choose between my selfishness and a thousands of people's lives”

That time Yan Gen couldn't understand what he meant by choosing between his selfishness and a thousands of people's lives, and what does it mean to asked someone else's hand.

Only now did he understand. Since the clan was so against them marrying to each other, Wei Yuu decided to asked for his majesty's decree without letting the clan knew. Who could have thought that Zhu Mingli was a step faster than him from doing it?

Everyone knew just how powerful an Emperor's decree is. It's irrefutable even for an emperor himself. Once he declare it, refuting it will decrease his authority. A monarch cannot take back his words easily for their words are as heavy as heaven's mandate.

Yan Gen thought of Zhu Mingli. Why did he asked for his hand in marriage and why is the clan so amiable about it? They were so against him at first because the clan won't benefit from him much. It's true that his majesty is favoring him thus he's now rising in the imperial court but compare to Zhu Deming and Zhu Cheng's power and influence over the imperial court in both civil and military throughout the past years, he's still far off from them. Why did his clan marry him to such a prince?

Unless they knew that he's the male lead of this world who will rule over the Empire in the future, they wouldn't dare let him marry Zhu Mingli who's less than the first prince and the second prince.

Could it be that the clan is assuming Zhu Mingli will eventually inherit the throne since he's his majesty favored son?