Chapter 7: Heat Beneath Ice

Gangcheon, who had grown accustomed to the peony scent emitted by the Noble Consort, furrowed his brow as he pulled his lips away.

He momentarily wondered if he truly had to go to such lengths to save this man’s life, but the skepticism quickly vanished.

The moment Haeryeong’s mouth fell open in a gasp, revealing a flushed red tongue, Gangcheon licked his own lower lip as if mirroring the movement.

Before the tongue that had slithered out like a snake could disappear back into the cave of his mouth, Gangcheon tilted his head and pressed their lips together again.

As he sucked on the hot tongue and gave it a sharp nip, a low groan escaped from the throat of Haeryeong, who had previously been doing nothing but gasping for air as if on the verge of death.

Gangcheon watched Haeryeong’s face while licking the inside of his mouth.

It was not because he expected a reaction, but because he feared the man might actually die in the middle of the kiss.

While he navigated the interior of a mouth so hot it felt like it might sear him, Gangcheon’s own body, submerged in the ice water, cooled rapidly.

In contrast, the body he held remained scorching.

Gangcheon pulled Haeryeong into a tighter embrace.

It was a bizarre sensation, as if he were holding a ball of fire in the middle of a block of ice.

Cradling the firebrand that was slowly cooling starting from the points touching his thighs, he tilted his head and delved deeper into Haeryeong’s mouth.

The membranes of the mouth, which had previously felt parched, were now slick and wet, sliding against his tongue with every touch.

As he raked through the mouth with overwhelming intensity, Haeryeong’s throat, tilted back, made a small gulping sound as he swallowed his saliva.

His instincts began to stir at the damp scent of hinoki cypress that was gradually thickening.

Since the scents of an Eumin and a Yangin possess a natural power to attract one another, a dull ache of arousal began to throb in his lower half, regardless of whether he liked the scent or not.

“Mmm.”

Gangcheon let out a thin hum through his nose and pulled his lips away.

He licked his wet lower lip with his tongue and stood up while still holding Haeryeong.

“Attend to the Empress.”

Gangcheon gestured with his chin toward Iryeon, who was standing nearby, and stepped out of the bathtub.

As he carried the damp, chilled Haeryeong toward the bed, the court ladies hurried after him, lowering the canopy and taking Haeryeong from his arms.

Gangcheon stepped outside the canopy and received the eunuchs’ assistance while watching the blurred movements of the court ladies.

While Manchul wiped Gangcheon’s body with a soft towel after removing his wet sleeping robes, the Emperor’s gaze remained fixed on the bed.

“When was the Empress’s heat cycle?”

“I believe it was around the middle of the month, Your Majesty.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, he recalled that he had intended to consummate the marriage with the Empress, who had recently turned twenty, during the last middle of the month.

The officials had been making such a fuss about producing an Imperial heir that he had set a date, but then he simply forgot about it, thinking it for the best when he heard the Empress was ill.

Manchul skillfully avoided touching the Emperor’s partially erect member while drying him off, then took a fresh sleeping robe from the eunuch standing behind him.

Once he had changed into his sleeping robes and donned his long robe, Manchul offered Gangcheon some tea.

“It is medicinal tea.”

“It will help dispel the chill from your noble body, Your Majesty.”

Gangcheon accepted the tea, which had been darkly brewed with herbal medicine, and held it briefly in his mouth with a relaxed demeanor.

As the hot liquid traveled down, a sigh escaped him involuntarily.

As he stood there drinking his tea, the canopy eventually opened and the court ladies stepped aside.

Gangcheon stood by the bed and looked down at the sleeping Haeryeong, whose breathing was now more relaxed than before.

Now that the fever flush had faded, his pale, wan face looked even more gaunt than it had moments ago.

Gangcheon narrowed his eyes, licking his lips which still held the bitter taste of the medicinal tea.

‘No matter how much I look at him, he is not a face that inspires excitement.’

Perhaps it was because he had inhaled the man’s Eumin scent, but a strange tightness pulled at his lower abdomen.

‘This time it passed out of necessity, but perhaps I should try consummating the marriage during the next heat cycle.’

Originally, Gangcheon had no intention of having an Imperial heir with the Empress.

Since the Noble Consort wanted an heir so desperately, he had promised to give him the first child.

However, seeing as the Empress’s heart was so devoted that he searched for him even while gravely ill, he thought it might not be a bad idea to grant him a child.

He didn’t expect to find the ecstasy of the heat with a man who likely wouldn’t even know how to open his body properly.

Nonetheless, the memory of that scorching tongue made his long robe stir.

Still, things had an order of priority.

He would have to save the dying man first before thinking on it again.

“Physician.”

“Remain here and tend to the Empress.”

“Inform me immediately of any change in his condition, and ensure he regains consciousness today, no matter what.”

“Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I shall devote my heart and soul to it.”

Gangcheon tilted his head slightly and glanced at Iryeon, who was bowing low.

Sensing his gaze, she lifted her head, only to hurriedly kneel and bow again.

“Did you say your name was Head Court Lady Yang?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

“I shall hold you accountable for your insolence after the Empress wakes.”

“Since you are such a devoted servant, see that you tend to him with all your heart until the moment you die.”

“Your mercy is boundless.”

Gangcheon didn’t even bother looking at the back of her deeply bowed head as he waved a hand at Manchul.

“I am returning to the Great Hall.”

After leaving the Empress’s Palace and boarding his palanquin, Gangcheon called for Manchul, who was following beside him.

“How is the Noble Consort doing?”

“I am told he has returned to the Consort’s Palace.”

Gangcheon let out a silent snort and allowed a small smile to play on his lips.

“Tell the Haejeongo to send ten bolts of red silk from Yeonan to the Consort’s Palace.”

“Send along a few skilled seamstresses as well.”

Manchul, uncharacteristically, did not answer immediately and hesitated for a moment.

“Your Majesty, it does not look good to bestow such a rare item upon the Consort rather than the Empress.”

“The red silk of Yeonan is the very silk used to make the Imperial Dragon Robes; why would you give it to the Consort?”

“It is precisely because it is so rare that I must give it to my favorite Consort.”

“Is that not so, Manchul?”

“Tell him I look forward to him making a beautiful garment and playing the zither for me.”

“He likely returned in low spirits, so I must do at least this much for him.”

He would surely be disheartened again when he heard the news of the consummation with the Empress, so it was best to soothe him in advance.

He wondered what he should give him to comfort him then.

The thought of holding the melancholy Consort in his arms and comforting him brought a constant smile to his face.

****

After the Emperor returned in his palanquin, the physician applied acupuncture and moxibustion to Haeryeong’s body.

It was to unblock the vital energy and blood that had been obstructed by the cold.

By the time he had taken his time to remove the burnt-out moxa, Haeryeong’s face had regained much more vitality.

‘If only the fever doesn’t rise again.’

Iryeon stood by the physician’s side and assisted him, all the while staring intently at Haeryeong’s face.

“I have done all the treatments I can, so for now, we must wait and see.”

After the physician said those words and departed, Mok brought a cloth soaked in water and quietly called out to Iryeon.

“Um, Head Court Lady.”

“I will watch over His Highness.”

“You should rest for a while.”

She looked worriedly at Iryeon’s face, which was covered in cold sweat, and carefully wiped the area near the wound on her forehead with the wet cloth.

“I will apply some gold-sore ointment for you, so please, rest for today.”

Iryeon quietly shook her head.

“What if His Highness wakes up while I am gone?”

“Then I will run and inform you immediately.”

Iryeon smiled softly and pulled the girl’s hand away from her forehead.

“It is alright.”

“Dawn will break soon anyway.”

“Mok, you should be the one to rotate with the others and get some rest.”

“You are the one who needs rest more than I do, Head Court Lady.”

“You haven’t properly closed your eyes for days….”

“At this rate, you will collapse before His Highness even wakes.”

“I am fine—”

A small groan cut through Iryeon’s response to Mok.

“Ugh…”

Iryeon and Mok immediately leaned over the bed to check Haeryeong’s face.

Each time his dark, sunken eyelids twitched, his long, thick eyelashes trembled violently.

The whites of his eyes that had been showing began to vanish as his dark pupils gradually flickered back into place.

“Your Highness!”

“Your Highness, have you come to your senses?”

Iryeon clasped her hands together and called out to Haeryeong with a prayer in her heart.

‘Please, wake up.’

Her eyes quickly grew red with her desperate, boiling emotions.

His rapidly fluttering eyelashes slowly lifted.

As his half-open eyes blinked, his unfocused pupils gradually revealed themselves.

Haeryeong, having slowly opened his eyes, rolled them to look around his surroundings before closing them again.

Which was the dream, and which was reality?

The parching pain and the heavy sensation in his limbs, as if all strength had drained from his body, felt unfamiliar.

A sense of helplessness so profound it made even reopening his eyes a struggle seemed to weigh heavily upon his entire frame.

“Mok.”

“Go fetch the Imperial Physician.”

Iryeon’s voice sounded faint.

His ears felt muffled, perhaps due to his flickering consciousness.

The sound cut out so much he doubted if he had even heard it correctly.

Iryeon leaned in close to Haeryeong’s ear and whispered.

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

Haeryeong heard her tearful voice and finally found the strength to open his eyes.

As he turned his head with a dazed look, the first thing that entered his vision was the dark, bruised wound near her forehead.

And beneath it, eyes brimming with tears were looking down at him.

Haeryeong opened his mouth to call her name, but feeling a parching thirst, he swept his tongue across his parched mouth.

Nevertheless, saliva failed to flow, and instead of words, only a rasping sound like a metallic wind escaped him.

Iryeon, having miraculously understood the words Haeryeong let out, hurried to bring the bedside water she had prepared.

“Your Highness, I shall help you sit up for a moment.”