Behind the back of the imperial flower garden was an immense lotus pond; the lotus flowers and leaves jostled one another, floating buoyantly upon the water's surface, creating an exceptionally beautiful spectacle.
Yan Si looked, causing his eyes to brighten intensely; within his heart there rose up a yearning to strip away his clothes, leap down into the water to bathe himself and then pluck lotus seedpods to eat, never expecting to unintentionally behold...
At this moment, both Yan Si and Xiao Yi nearly stood rooted to the spot.
Afar in the middle of the lake was a small boat. RongCheng was pillowing his head upon Shang Yuan's thigh, while that other person gently peeled the skin of lotus seeds. The two of them smiled and conversed, appearing extremely cheerful.
Abruptly, RongCheng pulled Shang Yuan close, lip touching lip; his hand slid inside that one's tunic to do something that from the shore, Yan Si found difficult to see clearly.
After a fleeting moment, RongCheng began to move, quickly pushing Shang Yuan down beneath his own self...
Far away, the boat after a burst of shock then rocked violently; Yan Si faintly caught sight of the two people possessing gestures of excessive intimacy, causing his heart suddenly to throb racingly inside his chest: "They... what are they doing?"
He understood not... truly understood not...
At this moment, before Yan Si's eyes, everything suddenly turned pitch dark.
A hand had just abruptly covered his eyes completely, speaking, "Ma... master... this scene, you truly ought not to look upon."
The strange emotion being unexpectedly cut short, Yan Si gritted his teeth tightly, a profound resentment welling up inside his heart.
Xiao Yi gradually turned Yan Si's person to face another direction, saying, "Do not look further... do not look further... Let us return... let us return!"
In the final analysis, those images continually haunted Yan Si throughout the entire day; approaching late night, he still possessed no way to close his eyes, and only when he managed to sleep was he unexpectedly dragged into a strange dream.
Amidst the hazy dreaming, Yan Si was at that lotus pond, seeing himself sitting upon a boat, beside him was a handsome man; looking closely, it turned out to be none other than RongCheng. And what he had witnessed that afternoon was now vividly reenacted upon his own body, even the emotions were exceptionally real. Possessing no awareness that his own self was dreaming, he completely immersed himself within forbidden pleasures, concealing an extremely deep delight...
Spring dreams, upon reaching the age of youth, would then occur; no individual was an exception. Unluckily, RongCheng, lacking heed and care, had let Yan Si witness the entirety of things that inherently deviated from the standard and deviated from moral principles from far too early.
Letting a person who inherently possessed a simple nature, not clear on whether that matter was right or wrong, merely seeing two people in an infatuated state, it was virtually sowing a seed, unconsciously striking deep roots into Yan Si's heart. From lack of understanding and curiosity, it turned into a disturbing dream that haunted him throughout many nights.
One night... two nights... three nights... Yan Si startled awake in the middle of the night, terrified because of those strange dreams.
Yan Si momentarily lost his bearings.
"Why did you act in such a manner?" How could he long for eldest brother and then dream of shameful matters like this?
Unforgivable...
Truly unforgivable...
"This foolish person, you are mad... you are truly mad..." Instantly Yan Si stood up abruptly, hurriedly running toward the lotus pond to hurl his frame down into the water.
The water within the pond at night was cold as ice; although it was not equal to the mountain valley in yesteryear, at least at present it could cool down his head.
Yan Si strove to submerge himself deep within the water, yet after a mere short while, he was also pushed back upward by it.
In the middle of the night, he lay soaking his frame amidst the lotus pond, his face turned upward looking toward the far, endless night sky, occasionally reaching his hand out toward the high stars above.
The image of RongCheng suddenly appeared before his eyes, yet no matter how Yan Si reached out, he still could not attain it, exactly like his affection devoted to the man... forever it was hopeless.
Time slipped away for a long, long period, yet Yan Si still did not wish to return to the shore. Abruptly, loud shouting voices rose up in commotion; imperial guards carrying torches were searching everywhere. Amidst that noisy sound, he could hear the voices of RongCheng and Xiao Yi...
Faintly hearing the calls, Yan Si momentarily was thrown into a panic, knowing not yet what to do, or how to explain?
If he spoke saying that in the deep of night he leaped down into the pond on his own, he would definitely be scolded for a session by RongCheng, and the man might even be angry with him... Yan Si remained silent and calculated for a long time, then decided to drink a great deal of water, feigning that his own self truly was on the verge of drowning...
At this time, upon the shore, it appeared someone had discovered his location and shouted loudly, "His... His Highness, over there the lotus leaves are vibrating very violently."
The moment he caught sight of it, RongCheng's face turned entirely pale for a fleeting moment; he did not even think of anything, hurriedly stripped off some of his clothes, and immediately leaped down into the pond.
Seeing this, the crowd of people upon the shore was in extreme panic and shouted loudly, "His... His Highness!"
At that time, everyone's countenance was pale, waiting in trepidation...
Not long afterward, RongCheng emerged from the surface of the water, furthermore pulling a person along to slowly move toward the shore...
This person was expectedly him!
RongCheng quickly laid Yan Si straight upon the ground. Seeing him, Xiao Yi's countenance had not a drop of blood remaining, calling softly, "Ma... master..."
Sensing that Yan Si's breath was weakening, RongCheng's frame also trembled along with it... For a fleeting moment, before he could even think of anything, he decided to perform artificial respiration on his own to assist him in expelling the water out.
Never expecting the matter to progress to such a state, Yan Si was thrown into a panic and wished to bolt up, yet dared not; having feigned it, he must perform it thoroughly.
Knowing not whether it was good fortune or bad, his long-cherished yearning to have lip touch lip with RongCheng had become a reality, causing a feeling of unexpected joy to surge within his heart.
After a session of being given respiration by the man, Yan Si coughed fitfully and then unceasingly vomited out water... Seeing this, RongCheng only then began to breathe a sigh of relief.