Recap
“I’m just thinking about what color to use. Lotus also has many kinds: blue, white, purple, and pink. The blue lotus is clear and cold, suitable for a gentleman, and it matches your appearance.”
Ji Yu’s appearance and character are the most suitable for the blue lotus.
Rong Yu watched coldly.
Chu Zhuo put down his pen, but it was dipped in red, and he drew a red lotus.
“But I think the red lotus is more in line with your soul. It is as bright as fire, burning as much as you want.” Chu Zhuo threw the pen away and said with a smile, “Don’t you think so, little lotus?”
Rong Yu raised his eyes.
Chu Zhuo’s glance seemed to penetrate his appearance of coldness and hit his burning soul.
___
“A lotus is a lotus.” Rong Yu looked at him for a long time and said, “Why add a ‘little’?”
Chu Zhuo said, “It’s cute.”
You are my love.
Rong Yu said, “That has nothing to do with me.”
“If you don’t like this name,” Chu Zhuo thought about it: “Then I’ll call you Ah Yu?”
Rong Yu: “Let’s call it a little lotus.”
The pronunciation of Yu* and Yu is similar. Before, when the two were alone, they would say anything directly and rarely call each other by name, so Rong Yu didn’t care about the name.
*(Ji Yu vs Rong Yu)
He used to think that the name of Little Lotus did not fit his status and temperament, but after hearing the sun call him, it became more pleasant to the ear.
Chu Zhuo smiled and said, “If you like it, I will call you more often. Little Lotus, Little Lotus…”
Suddenly, there was a nickname, and Chu Zhuo became addicted to calling him. Rong Yu was speechless, turned his head away, and said, “Meh; do your business.”
Chu Zhuo hugged him from behind: “You are my business.”
Rong Yu said naturally, “Am I? Aren’t you afraid that my body will be torn apart by you?”
“I wasn’t thinking of that.” Chu Zhuo laughed. “But it seems that you are; can you have something else in your pretty little head?”
It would be a lie to say that he had no thoughts at all, but the most important thing in Chu Zhuo’s eyes was Rong Yu’s health, and everything else had to be put aside.
“The New Year is coming soon; what do you want for the New Year?” Chu Zhuo jumped to the topic quickly.
Rong Yu confirmed that he and the sun really can’t be on the same timeline. “How can it be fast? Isn’t there still a month?”
“One month is the time to prepare gifts for you. Tell me what you want.” Chu Zhuo said, “I will get you whatever you can say.”
“I don’t want anything.” Rong Yu had no interest. “Even if it’s not the New Year, you still send things to my palace every day. My palace can’t hold them.” Chu Zhuo said without hesitation, “Then expand the palace several times, and it will be able to hold them.”
The foolish tyrant spoke.
Rong Yu felt that if there was a task that would bring disaster to the country and the people, he could complete it without any effort.
His Majesty Emperor Chu was simply sending his head to the platter.
“If you don’t want anything else, then I’ll send some new clothes.” Chu Zhuo must do something for him. The New Year cannot be without symbolism.
“Don’t I have enough clothes?” Rong Yu said, “The wardrobe is almost full.”
The clothes of this era are very plain, either black or gray, or light blue and white, which is completely inconsistent with Rong Yu’s aesthetics. As soon as he arrived, he asked people to change all their clothes into bright red, and the styles were as gorgeous and complicated as possible. Chu Zhuo knew his preferences and gave him a lot of red clothes. He changed one dress a day and never repeated a single red dress in a year.
Rong Yu really had a few opportunities to wear them out. Those clothes were thick winter clothes, and he didn’t go out, so they were basically kept at the bottom of the box as decoration. But this did not prevent him from having the hobby of collecting. The more clothes, the better.
After a certain level, he became numb.
Chu Zhuo was silent for a moment. “Sure enough, we should expand the palace.”
“Forget it; I’m too lazy to bother.” Rong Yu looked back at the red lotus and said, “Find someone to frame this painting; I want to hang it in the room.”
Chu Zhuo raised his eyebrows and smiled: “Is my painting so beautiful that you have to look at it before sleeping?”
“It’s so ugly; hanging it on the head of the bed will definitely drive away ghosts and evil spirits and protect me from all poisons.” Rong Yu broke his beautiful fantasy.
Chu Zhuo: “…” Okay.
Little Lotus always says one thing but means another.
_
Rong Yu’s body was really weak. It took him nearly a month to recover from a cold. Thanks to Chu Zhuo’s careful care.
When he recovered from his illness, the snow outside the window melted quietly, the warm sun penetrated the clouds, the end of the year was approaching, and the beginning of spring arrived.
The spring was cold and not much warmer than the winter. With the previous experience, Chu Zhuo did not dare to take Rong Yu out for a walk, fearing that he would get sick again if he was blown by the wind.
He’ll wait until the weather is warmer before going out for some fresh air.
Fortunately, Rong Yu himself is also a lazy person. He can stay idle as long as Chu Zhuo is around.
Chu Zhuo was afraid that Rong Yu would be bored, so he insisted on drawing a picture for Rong Yu every day and asked Rong Yu to specify the theme. Rong Yu perfunctorily asked him to draw flowers, birds, insects, fish, red walls, and green tiles for a few days at first, but later he was really impatient and let Chu Zhuo do it himself.
Ji Yu loves to draw scenery, but he is really not interested. Chu Zhuo saw that Rong Yu was not in a good mood, so he didn’t bother him, but the task of drawing a picture every day continued, and Rong Yu didn’t know what he drew.
On New Year’s Eve, Rong Yu and Chu Zhuo had a reunion dinner for two people. At the dinner table, Chu Zhuo said that he would give him a gift, which was a red dress that was festive to wear during the New Year.
Rong Yu bit his chopsticks; his mind was all on the food: “Didn’t you say I have enough clothes? If you want to give me something new, why not give me something new?” Chu Zhuo said, “This one is different.” He put the box on the chair and said, “Open it and take a look.”
Rong Yu glanced at him, put down his chopsticks, and opened the box. Inside was a red dress with bright colors. Rong Yu took out the clothes and unfolded them. It was a long robe with wide sleeves, and the cuffs were outlined by gold thread and embroidered with a blooming red lotus. Rong Yu’s eyes were slightly lowered, and his gaze was fixed on the red lotus on the cuffs for a long time.
“The red lotus suits you, so I asked someone to embroider it.” Chu Zhuo saw that he noticed it and raised his lips and said, “The royal seamstress rushed to make the clothes for a month and finally finished them before the New Year. How is it? Doesn’t it look good?”
Rong Yu said, “Yeah.”
“In fact, it has another special feature.” Chu Zhuo deliberately kept it a secret. Rong Yu completed it for him, “It won’t rot for a thousand years.”
“…” Chu Zhuo was stunned and frowned. “Did someone from the royal seamstress leak it?”
Rong Yu put the clothes back: “I’m so smart, there’s nothing I can’t guess.”
“It’s made of special materials, using red water chestnut thread that’s worth a thousand gold coins. The clothes made of it are invulnerable to swords and guns, water and fire, warm in winter and cool in summer, and can last for a thousand years without rotting. The Chu royal family has an ancestral black dragon robe, which is used exclusively for the emperor’s coronation and wedding. It is made of red water chestnut thread. I searched through the remaining red water chestnut threads in the treasury and could only find this one, named Gold threaded robes.” Chu Zhuo saw him put the clothes back and said, “Don’t you want to try them on? I measured the size by eye to see if it fits.”
Rong Yu sat back at the table and said, “Let me finish my meal first.”
Chu Zhuo: “…Oh.”
Little Lotus didn’t look surprised. Could it be that the gift didn’t suit him?
Of course, Rong Yu wouldn’t be surprised. It wasn’t the first time he saw this robe.
As early as the last world, he had worn the Gold threaded robes.
There are many silks, satins, and gorgeous clothes in the Ghost King’s Tomb, but most of them have been damaged over the years, and you can only vaguely see that the color is red.
Rong Yu thought at that time that the tomb owner had the same preference as him and preferred red. Now that I think about it, that was simply his preference.
Those damaged fabrics buried with him were all red clothes in his Yuqing Palace box. The gorgeous clothes with red lotus embroidered on the cuffs were the only clothes that could still be worn. They were given to him by the Ghost King a thousand years later.
That was also a New Year’s gift from Chu Zhuo before he died.
_
Rong Yu finished a meal slowly, and Chu Zhuo finished it with him. The delicious food lost its taste when it fell into his mouth. It is always frustrating when a carefully prepared gift is not liked.
Before going to bed at night, Chu Zhuo suddenly said, “Wait, there is another gift.”
Rong Yu: “Huh?”
“I also found a kind of pigment that can be painted on the human body, which will not hurt the skin and will never fade.” Chu Zhuo tried to be serious so as not to appear too frivolous. “Do you want to cover the mark on your back? I can paint on your back. You know my painting skills; I will definitely paint you beautifully.”
Rong Yu looked at him without blinking.
Chu Zhuo was uncomfortable being looked at. He knew that it was very abrupt to say this suddenly, and the painting on the back sounded like a hooligan.
But he really wanted to cover the mark on Rong Yu’s back. Even if Rong Yu couldn’t see it, it was an indelible wound. Every time he looked at it, it was piercing and painful.
Under Rong Yu’s sharp gaze, Chu Zhuo explained dryly, “I don’t mean anything else. If you don’t want to, then”
Rong Yu took off his clothes neatly and said, “Who doesn’t want to? Do it.”
Chu Zhuo: “Let’s not draw it first, huh? Wait, you don’t have to take it off completely!”
Rong Yu was puzzled: “I didn’t take off my pants.”
“You don’t have to take off your top completely; be careful of catching a cold.” Chu Zhuo said cautiously, “Just take it off halfway; you need to draw the shoulders and the upper part of the back.”
Rong Yu pulled the clothes that were about to fall off back to his arms, revealing only half of his fair back. “Like this?” Chu Zhuo nodded. “Yes. Just like this, lie on the couch.” Rong Yu lay on the beauty couch; his black hair was loosely tied by a red hairband and hung in front of his chest. The half-dressed look was more seductive than being naked. After bathing and washing him countless times, sleeping with him for several months, and helping him several times, Chu Zhuo’s concentration is no longer what it used to be. At least he can still hold the paintbrush steadily. … This is a question that needs to be answered. Looking at the slightly trembling pen tip, Chu Zhuo felt that he might have the same symptoms as Rong Yu.
Rong Yu could not see his movements but only knew that the pen tip had not fallen down for a long time. He closed his eyes and urged, “Hurry up; it’s very cold.”
Chu Zhuo said, “I know.” His eyes fell on the mark, looking for a place to put the pen.
Rong Yu asked, “What do you want to draw?”
Chu Zhuo said, “Guess.”
Rong Yu: “I guess it’s a red lotus.”
Chu Zhuo had already put down the first stroke at this time; it was just outlining the shape of a red lotus petal.
“How come you guess it right every time?” Chu Zhuo asked in surprise.
Rong Yu said, “What’s so difficult about this? The clothes sent must be embroidered with red lotus. What is your obsession with red lotus?”
Chu Zhuo said, “Little lotus, you’re my obsession.”
You are my obsession.
“I have it, and the obsession has not disappeared.” A thousand years later, the ghost king once said word for word, “I have to wait for someone to marry him. The day we meet again is the day I see the light of day again.”
When did that obsession come about? In the past, in the future, or now?
“Speaking of which, don’t you like that gold threaded robe?” Chu Zhuo finally dared to ask, “If you don’t like it, don’t force yourself to wear it; just tear it apart and make a new one.”
“Hmm? It’s pretty good; I don’t dislike it.”
“But I can see that you don’t look very happy.”
“I don’t show my emotions.”
“Your emotions are clearly written on your face.”
“Just focus on your painting; your brush makes me itch so much.” Rong Yu complained.
“That can’t be helped; you have to bear it.” Chu Zhuo said.
“Hmm…” The itch spread from his back. Rong Yu hummed softly, and Chu Zhuo couldn’t remain calm anymore. His hand holding the brush trembled for a while.
“It’s just a painting, little lotus; there’s no need to make such misleading sounds; you’re testing me.”
Rong Yu said coldly, “There’s nothing you can do; you have to bear it.”
Chu Zhuo: “…”
It’s too vindictive.
___
T/N: Poor Chu Zhuo
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