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Chapter Text

Wen Ruohan slips into Nie Mingjue's cell, closing the door behind him. He's prepared for the punch that comes at his jaw, and he catches it, redirecting his momentum to toss him on the ground. 

"You," Nie Mingjue growls in a voice like fire. "How dare you touch my brother like that!" 

Ruohan puts his foot on the man's chest before he can get up, leaning his weight down and feeling his ribcage just barely start to bend under the strain. "A-Sang is my concubine," he says evenly, amused by how Nie Mingjue's hands curl around his ankle like he could somehow remove the foot holding him down. "If you wanted a say in how I treat him, perhaps you should have negotiated with me." 

Mingjue snarls and heaves upwards with all his strength, but his cultivation is locked, and Wen Ruohan is very strong. Even if he could access his core, the emperor would have little trouble keeping him in place. "I do not negotiate with Wen dogs!"

He tuts. "In that case, I suppose I'll treat my Nie concubine however I chose, then." He crouches down, shifting more of his weight onto his foot. Mingjue whines faintly at the increase of pressure, but Ruohan knows exactly how much he can push before bones crack, and he intends to toe that line very closely without crossing it. At least, not today. "Normally I would not share my concubines with anyone outside my inner circle," he goes on, "but your guards did such a phenomenal job restraining you at the banquet. I think they deserve a reward. Two of them were women, did you notice? There are so few female cultivators in Qinghe, it's a shame, really. I wonder if A-Sang will be able to please them, or if he's only good at taking cock?"

Mingjue snarls and writhes but still can't break himself free. "Fuck you," he snaps, gasping, exhausting himself with his futile efforts. 

He just raises an eyebrow. Ruohan rarely bottoms, but the idea of tying Nie Mingjue down, maybe choking him a bit, and riding his big dick until the proud man is begging to come and then leaving him like that isn't unappealing by any stretch.

"You love your brother very much," Ruohan says. "That much is obvious."

Mingjue swallows, visibly tamping down his raw fury. "He's the only family I have."

That is a promising response. "What would you do to see him released from my service, and sent back to Qinghe tomorrow, to live with whatever is left of the Nie?" 

His eyes go wide, sparkling with hope that he quickly hides. "Anything," he breathes, endearingly earnest. 

Ruohan smiles. Mingjue gulps. 

"Take his place, then. Become my Nie concubine, Chifeng-zun, and I will release Huaisang and send him home. Tomorrow." 

Nie Mingjue is silent, looking up at him with big eyes. 

"Do you need time to mull it over?"

He shakes his head. "No. I'll do it."

Ruohan removes his foot from Nie Mingjue's chest. "Excellent," he purrs. He crosses to the door and steps out. "I'll see you in the morning, then." He smirks. "A-Jue." 

Ziran and Tieyun meet him outside the isolation cell, the only cell in all of Nightless City to have solid doors rather than bars.

"He agreed," he says, and both guards break out in smiles.

"Wen-xiong, you truly are a force to be reckoned with," Ziran says.

Wen Ruohan smiles at the familiar address. As his third highest ranking guardsman, and the son of a dear friend who passed during the war, he always values those little moments when Ziran is willing to be informal with him.

"Little Huaisang is returning to Qinghe, I presume?"

"Indeed."

Tieyun sighs dramatically. "And I never even got the chance to fist his pretty ass," he sighs.

He arches a brow at him. Ruohan may trust Tieyun, but he does not like him, not anymore. He has been searching for a suitable replacement for the man for almost a month now, but the only person with a similar skillset who he trusts enough to make one of his personal guards is Yao'er. And he does not want Yao'er as his guard. So Wen Tieyun remains, solely because of his competency.

But even Tieyun's presence is not enough to put a damper on his spirits. He feels on top of the entire world as he goes back upstairs and leaves the dungeon, taking the two guards with him.

They pass by the guest quarters, and Ruohan spots a single white-clad shape standing in the courtyard outside one of them.

"Ah, it's Grandmaster Lan," Tieyun says. "Out past his bedtime. Probably seething with guilt over what he did to poor Zewu-jun."

Ruohan glances at him out of the corner of his eye. That. That is what is slowly eroding Tieyun's character, in his eyes. Tieyun wants Xichen, very much, and he cannot have him. Xichen belongs to Yao'er, and no one else. He still remembers Tieyun coming on shift with a thin cut on his neck, which he explained as 'the prince being protective over his jade whore'. Ever since, he's been worriedly keeping an eye on the man. The personal guards of the emperor need to protect his heir as much as the emperor himself. And he does not trust Tieyin to do that, not when he is so clearly lusting after Huoyao's betrothed.

In all his years of leading a sect, he has always had a personal guard made up of his most trusted warrior confidants, and only once before has he lost faith in someone he put at his side. He had the man swiftly removed, and he was replaced with Luo Xianbian, who is a better loremaster and swordsman overall anyway. But Tieyun is a torturer, and though there are no shortages of those in Nightless City, there are very few he trusts.

"Tieyun," he says. "You're dismissed, you've worked all day. Ziran can escort me back to my rooms."

Startled, Tieyun acquiesces. "Thank you, my lord."

Once he's out of sight, Ruohan sighs. Ziran claps him on the shoulder. He's probably aware of the emperor's loss of faith in Tieyun, but he wisely doesn't comment on it.

"Are you going to speak with Grandmaster Lan?" He says instead, and gestures to the figure in the moonlight, still facing away from them. "I, for one, am very curious about his motivations."

"Well, we are here, and so is he. I don't see why not." He gives the man's wrist a gentle squeeze. "Wait here and keep an eye out."

"Of course."

Ziran is a very capable fighter at medium and long ranges. He does not use a sword, instead he fights with spiritually enforced needles, which he can throw great distances. The man can kill a warrior with only three needles in the neck, and as far as Ruohan knows, he has never missed. He will be quite safe wandering into the guest courtyard.

It is embarrassingly easy for Wen Ruohan to sneak up on Lan Qiren. The man is apparently so entranced by the light of the moon that he is blind to all else. He is alone, which is foolish, and out of his room after dark, even more foolish. Someone with far less restraint than Wen Ruohan will find him like this.

"You know," Wen Ruohan says, leaning casually against a tree and making Lan Qiren jump, "you really are a consummate fool, Grandmaster."

The man rounds on him, eyes blazing. "You," he snarls, showing not an ounce of propriety nor the manners his clan are known for. "I know what you've done," he continues, eyes lit with an insane and vicious light. "You-- you monster, you evil creature. I know what you did to make Xichen into your son's little plaything. I won't stand for it, I won't allow you to manipulate and humiliate the Lan any further."

Wen Ruohan raises an eyebrow. Yes, it was a good idea to come here, and talk with Lan Qiren. Clearly he's woven some intricate fantasy that he will need to untangle. "What have I done, exactly?" 

"You drugged him!" He shouts, drawing his sword a few inches. "You raped his mind, I know you, I know what you're capable of!"

That is… not the accusation he was expecting. 

"I remember what you made, back when we were young. I remember the genggai xin."

Wen Ruohan throws his head back and laughs. "You think I used the heart changing technique I invented when I was fifteen to make Xichen fall in love with Yao'er?!" He almost doubles over. 

Honestly, it isn't a bad guess. Wen Ruohan does still have thirty vials tucked away in the vault under stasis talismans. They aren't exactly the same as the genggai xin, a mix of talisman and drug that he came up with during the botany section of his lectures in Cloud Recess, these are much better made, and play more on the mind than the heart. Far more effective that way. 

Gods, that was a long time ago, wasn't it? Wen Ruohan was a precocious child, but in his younger years he'd been very concerned with getting reactions from people. He enjoyed shocking them, disturbing their delicate sensibilities. The whole reason he had developed a method that was capable of forcing someone to have a radical change of heart towards another person was to watch the Lan elders and his fellow students squirm. At the time, Ruohan was more interested in pushing the aspect of how the genggai xin could turn love into hate, but he mentioned how it could also absolutely turn hate into love. 

"So, you disowned your nephew because you think I've brainwashed him?" He asks, genuinely confused for once. Lan Qiren is normally so wise, and this makes no sense. 

"I disowned the puppet you turned him into," Lan Qiren shoots back.

Aha, now he thinks he understands. He simply can't fathom the idea that Zewu-jun would compromise his pride and yield to such a situation, especially not with the enthusiasm he has been showing. The only way Lan Qiren can rationalize what he saw tonight, Xichen in a willing and happy relationship with Huoyao, is that it must've been forced after all.

It must be exhausting to be so out of touch with the world. Or maybe not, if the Grandmaster never gives it any thought, and completely disregards and refuses to believe anything that doesn't fit into his preconceived notions of how people will act.

"You certainly feel strongly about this," Ruohan says casually.

"I read Li Zhaojing's journal," he snaps. "I found it. I know what happened. I know it was you who gave Lan Baiqiu the drug and talisman he tried to use on her. I know she killed him in self defense. I know what you did."

Honestly, Wen Ruohan was willing to give a vial and a talisman to anybody who could pay him for his troubles, back then, before he started struggling to find the flower that was synthesized as a major part of the drug. But that makes a lot of sense as to why she would have killed the elder, and needed to be imprisoned. 

"Ah, you're here to brag about how you read your sister-in-law's journal years after her death?" 

Lan Qiren crosses his arms. "The genggai xin kills a person and replaces them with someone else. That man who sank so willingly and happily to his knees in front of your ill-begotten mongrel 'son' is a stranger in a familiar body."

His body moves faster than his mind, though it takes only a second to catch up. Lan Qiren is very strong, but he is a scholar. Wen Ruohan is an emperor, a warrior, and a torturer, and it's second nature to grab Lan Qiren's hands and snap both his wrists, making him howl in shocked pain. 

"You will not speak ill of my son," he growls, putting pressure on the break in his right wrist. "I have done nothing to little Xichen, he fell in love all on his own. Like father, like son." He pauses to grin at Lan Qiren's wordless, furious snarl. "Yao'er adores him, worships the ground he stands on, would do anything for him. This is likely the safest Zewu-jun has ever been." He tosses Lan Qiren on the ground, and he yelps when he instinctively tries to catch himself on his broken wrists. 

"You are a monster and a liar," he snaps, panting, eyes wet with tears. 

Wen Ruohan kneels down next to him, getting dirt on the knees of his fancy robe. "It doesn't matter to me if you believe me or not." He grabs a handful of the Grandmaster's hair. "I do appreciate the gift you've made of your nephew to me, though. I wouldn't want you to think me ungrateful." He thumbs the man's beard with his free hand. "Gods, I despise facial hair. Hideous texture." 

Lan Qiren spits at him, and says nothing. 

Wen Ruohan tuts to himself, then traces his finger around the man's face, cultivation quivering in the air. A second later, every hair in his beard and mustache falls clean out. 

"Better." He releases his hair, and pats one smooth cheek. "A very merciful punishment for insulting my son, and a boon for the rest of the world, to get to actually see your pretty face." He stands up, meaning to walk away, then pauses. "Lan Qiren. Let me know when you plan to finish your takeover of the Lan by getting rid of Hanguang-jun. I'm sure I can find a use for him here, though not one quite as illustrious or comfortable as his brother."

Now he can walk away, ignoring the man's furious shouts. 

Ziran raises an eyebrow at him when they reunite, on their way back to the royal wing of the fire palace. "You were gentle with him, Wen-xiong. I do hope the prince and his betrothed appreciate it."

Ruohan shakes his head. "I have no intention of telling Yao'er about this at all. He and Xichen have been through enough. But, if they do find out, I am sure they will appreciate me leaving the Grandmaster alive. Yao'er is far from an ungrateful son."

"He is an excellent heir. You chose well."

Ruohan lowers his voice as they pass by his son's rooms. There's no sound coming from them, but he is pretty sure his son has silencing talismans on every wall, floor, and ceiling. That's fine. Yao'er will relax eventually, once he realizes that the Fire Palace is his home, and that the sounds of him coupling with his betrothed are far from unwelcome. Anyone passing by would be honored to overhear. 

"He's a good boy. So clever and ruthless, it's not hard to imagine he's of my own blood."

Ziran nods. "I honestly often forget he's so young. He never had the chance to be a child though, I imagine."

Of course not, a brothel teeming with violence is no place for a child, nor is the bottom of Carp Tower's steps or the harsh culture of the Unclean Realm. "He's proven himself more than worthy of a good life." Ruohan sighs. "I only wish he could have gotten to know his brothers. He and Chao'er would've clashed, but I think he and Xu'er would have gotten along quite well."

Ziran's lips quirk. "Between Shanyu's battle prowess and Huoyao's brilliance, they would have made an unstoppable team. Lixun would have had no choice but to clean up his act, just to keep up with his brothers."

It hurts, still, to talk about his two dead sons, but having his friends discuss them so casually with their courtesy names also feels healing. Like he can, eventually, move on.

Xu'er would approve of Yao'er, and happily welcome him. Ruohan is confident in that assessment, and that his eldest son's spirit is glad that his father still has an heir. Chao'er would have whined and pouted, but after a while of being shown up by both his older and younger brothers, he would get it together.

They round the corner to the hallway outside the emperor's rooms, where Longwei is already on guard with two members of the general guard that Ruohan doesn't bother to recall the names of by his side.

"Longwei, do come inside for a little while," he says, beckoning. "I will need you and Ziran for a brief moment."

With the two guards trailing him, he goes inside, and finds A-Xuan, A-Sang, and A-Cheng all gathered together on his bed. They jump when he comes in. A-Xuan and A-Cheng both remember their manners and throw themselves down on their knees. A-Sang, however, does not move. 

Ruohan sighs. "Normally I would punish you harshly for that, A-Sang, but you are in luck. It turns out your brother is not quite so unyielding after all." He threads his fingers through A-Xuan's hair. Once all this is dealt with, he's going to bend his little peony over and rail him until he thinks he might be able to sleep. 

"Longwei, Ziran, escort young master Nie to a guest room. He will be returning to Qinghe tomorrow."

His eyes go comically wide. "What did da-ge do?!" 

Ruohan grins, genuinely delighted. "I told you already, young master Nie, that your brother is not quite so unyielding. What do you think he did?"

Huaisang begins to sob. "Please, don't do this," he begs. 

Ruohan gestures at his guards. "Now, please. I expect him to be put up with comforts."

They have to carry him out of the room, begging the emperor to reconsider. Apparently the fierce love Mingjue feels for his brother is returned just as fiercely. 

Chapter Text

Ruohan finishes filling out the necessary paperwork, releasing Huaisang from his service and replacing him with Mingjue. Then he grabs A-Xuan, tosses him on the bed, and pulls the plug from his ass with a satisfying pop.

"Yo-- your excellency-- AH!" A-Xuan cries out as Ruohan enters him in a single thrust. He pushes A-Xuan's face down into the pillow, smothering him. He's become very fond of the way the lack of air makes his ass tighten, and how his entire body spasms when Ruohan allows him to breathe again. 

"Take it, my peony," he growls, yanking A-Xuan up to let him get some air. "You said you would be good at the banquet, but I didn't tell you to take out A-Sang's gag or help him up, did I?" 

"N-n-no, master," A-Xuan gasps out. He only calls Ruohan 'master' unprompted when he thinks it will net him a lesser punishment. This time, it will not work.

"For your punishment, you'll take as much of my come as I think you deserve, and come untouched while being fucked," he declares, grinding hard into A-Xuan's sweet spot. 

He gives a little sob. A-Xuan hates coming untouched, even though he looks outstanding while doing it. He told him it was the most intense kind of orgasm he'd ever felt, and it left him agonizingly sensitive. 

"I'll fuck you until I come, and then I'll just keep going, fucking you deep and hard until I decide you've had enough." He likes reminding his peony of how deeply his body can take cock, it always reminds them both of their first time together. "You were quite naughty. Unlike A-Cheng."

The boy on the floor looks up at them. His face is crimson.

Ruohan grins. "A-Cheng performed perfectly at the banquet. He deserves a reward." He turns to the other concubine to smile at him. He's still kneeling obediently on the floor, and when his master's attention turns to him, he flushes.

For all his prickliness, A-Cheng is incredibly weak to praise. Especially from a big, strong man about the age of his father. Ruohan has really been enjoying that. This is, after all, what he first desired to have with Yao'er, years ago. 

But only the first jade of Lan has been able to move that heart of his. It makes sense, he supposes. Zewu-jun is renowned for his gentleness much as his beauty and strength. And poor Yao'er has endured more than any single person ever should in such a short life. It's no wonder that he needs the kindest lover possible, one to whom sweetness and adoration and service comes naturally. 

As sad as it makes him, Ruohan knows he cannot give Yao'er what he needs as a lover. But, he certainly can as a father, and that's still something he knows the young man has never had. So he'll give him that, be an indulgent and loving father, he'll fill a different role in Meng Yao-- in Wen Huoyao's life, and slake his lust on his concubines.

"Yes, you were such a good boy," he continues, looking into A-Cheng's eyes. "After A-Xuan's punishment is done, I'll give you a massage." 

His pupils dilate, clearly remembering how good the first massage Ruohan gave him had felt. 

He laughs. "Ah, you like that idea, don't you? Good boy. Come here, come sit with me." 

A-Cheng sits on the edge of the bed by the two of them, and Ruohan draws him in for a kiss. Another reward. His lotus loves to be kissed, and the emperor does not give his kisses lightly. 

His tongue is in A-Cheng's mouth when he comes, pumping deep into A-Xuan's tight little pocket. He sighs and draws back, working his still hard length a few times. "Your turn, A-Cheng," he coos. 

Unlike A-Xuan and A-Sang, there seems to be no love between A-Cheng and A-Xuan, but still his lotus hesitates.

"Do you not want to fuck him, A-Cheng?" Ruohan asks. He tugs on A-Cheng's wrist. "Come along, my good lotus. That's it, stick it in him." He has to physically move A-Cheng himself to get him to slide his erection into A-Xuan's open hole, and then Ruohan pushes against his back to make him sink in to the hilt.

His lotus fucks into him softly after a bit of prompting, then quicker, long cock making wet noises as it stirs Ruohan's come inside him. 

"Good boy," he praises again. A-Cheng makes a face that says he would have gasped, if he could make any noise at all.

A-Cheng is so very easy to manipulate, all Ruohan needed to do in order to be forgiven for the modification to his throat was say Xue Yang did it without permission and 'punish' him with thirty lashes, while A-Cheng watched. The little delinquent adores being whipped and actually took fifty lashes, to both his and A-Cheng's delight. A-Cheng didn't need to know it was actually a reward to Xue Yang. It was even easier to get forgiveness for the massacre of Lotus Pier: he tells him that Chao'er acted without his permission, which was true, and that he had explicitly told him to kill as few people as possible, which was also true. What was the point of conquering a group of people just to kill them all? He might have acted much more torn up about it than he actually was, but he could tap into his genuine sadness that he never got to take Jiang Fengmian, the first man he ever felt desire for in his life, to bed, or even attempt to make an ally of Yu Ziyuan. 

"Yes, you," Ruohan goes on, looking back to the son of the two people he had not wanted dead but did not really mourn. A-Cheng is not as beautiful as his father or as fierce as his mother, but he is still A-Cheng, and Wen Ruohan is a bit soft on him.

He reaches down A-Xuan's body to press his fingers against his prostate from the outside, gently milking him. 

"Gods, master, please!"

Ruohan hushes him. "If you can't  be quiet, A-Xuan, I'll have to gag you. Do you want that?"

Still being rocked by A-Cheng's  thrusts and having his prostate massaged from the outside, he hangs his head. "No, master."

He turns his attention back to the concubine he's rewarding. "You did so well, A-Cheng, you handled the banquet perfectly, my lotus. And you look so beautiful now, so handsome, putting A-Xuan in his place. Such a good boy."

A-Cheng throws his head back and comes, pumping more seed into A-Xuan. 

"Alright, darling, that's wonderful," he praises. "Fill him up, nice and deep. That's it." 

A-Cheng pulls out and lays down on the bed, making room for Ruohan to take his place between A-Xuan's legs and put his cock back where it belongs. 

"Mm, you're so full, A-Xuan," he purrs. He keeps massaging his prostate with his hand, making sure his cock also rubs it on the inside. "Do you feel it trickling into your stomach, stretching you out inside? Answer me."

"Yes," A-Xuan sobs. "Master please, don't come inside me, it's so deep, there's no more room!"

He can't hold in a dark chuckle. "Oh, there's room, my sweet peony. There's always room." He grinds his thumb hard into A-Xuan's prostate, and he sobs and comes untouched. 

Ruohan doesn't stop fucking him, or massaging his prostate. He milks this orgasm for all it's worth, until A-Xuan is a sobbing, screaming mess and coming dry, and the sounds he's making push the emperor over the edge.

"I'm coming inside you, my peony," he husks, holding A-Xuan in place with a hand around his balls. He's accustomed to him occasionally trying to escape letting his master come while hilted inside him. Not that Ruohan ever has, or will, let him. A-Xuan was made to be stuffed with come in both his lovely holes, to whimper and whine as he's being filled. "Oh, I'm coming deep in your ass, and there is nothing you can do about it, A-Xuan." This orgasm goes on for a while, and leaves Ruohan moaning and grunting, but still hard. 

He ruts into him a few times, letting his concubine feel that he still isn't going soft. 

A-Xuan whimpers. "Please," he gasps. "No more, I'm so full, I can't, I can't--GUH!" 

Ruohan fucks the protests right out of him, deciding it's time to be a little rougher. "You'll take another load from your master," he says firmly. He has to pin A-Xuan's arms in the small of his back now, but thankfully he only needs one hand for that. The other he keeps tight around his balls, making sure he stays where he belongs. "You'll take whatever I decide to give you." He squeezes those cute testicles, which forces an adorable squeak out of A-Xuan. "A-Cheng, do you want to fuck him again? You've been so good." 

A-Cheng, who was laying on his side and watching with one hand propping up his head, slowly shakes it no. Ruohan frowns. Some kind of hangup is keeping his lotus from fully enjoying this. Pity or sympathy for A-Xuan, probably.

"Come, come, my lotus. You're still so hard, I insist you have him again. It's either you, or I can call in a few of my guards and let them pass him around."

A-Cheng stiffens, and then nods. He'll do it. 

Ruohan drives into A-Xuan with renewed vigor. "In that case, you'll take a load from your master and another from A-Cheng. Then I'll plug you up, bind your hands, and you can sit on the floor while I tend to A-Cheng and think about what you did wrong."

A-Xuan cries so beautifully. "Master please! I'm sorry, I won't disobey you again!" 

"No, you won't," he says smugly. "But, if you do, there's always that lovely long toy waiting to get acquainted with your insides."

The miserable wail A-Xuan lets out topples Ruohan over the edge for the final time. He rolls his balls in his palm, making his concubine give an adorable whine and tighten up around him.

"Mhm, your snug ass is stuffed," he grunts, letting the intense orgasm wash over him so he can empty himself into the whimpering concubine. He keeps roughly massaging his balls, making his peony's inner muscles twitch and milk him. "Do you feel your guts stretching out to fit it all? Four loads of come will do that, and you're about to take another from A-Cheng." He sighs happily, feeling himself finally begin to run dry. "I do so love rearranging your body to suit my desires, my peony." 

Maybe some day he'll actually rearrange A-Xuan's body a bit. His peony doesn't really need his testicles, there are drugs and talismans that can get his cute prick hard without them. And he would be so pretty with his perenium extended, all the way to the base of his cock. He already comes untouched so well anyway. Hmmm. The thought is exciting, especially since the sight of his son castrated would probably kill Jin Guangshan on the spot.

He pulls out, satisfied with the way his hole can't quite close all the way. He'll probably need to go a size larger than the usual plug A-Xuan wears. 

Ruohan beckons in A-Cheng, and he comes without complaint. "Here you are," he coos, gently guiding him inside. "Yes, good boy. Doesn't he feel nice, all slick and loose?"

A-Cheng nods, looking strained.

Ruohan gets the next biggest plug out from his chest of toys, then puts it back and goes another size up, just to torment him. He shows it to A-Xuan. "You've graduated, my peony, for a little bit. Just until tomorrow, to keep all that come inside you where it belongs. A big, thick plug will make sure you can't push it out." He also grabs a pair of cuffs, to keep the pretty boy from grabbing at the plug himself. 

He only sobs, and whimpers and yelps as A-Cheng gives him his final load. He pulls out, and Ruohan pops the plug into him. His well-fucked rim closes tightly around the neck, which is still the narrowest part of the plug but wider than the ones A-Xuan is used to. This leaves the base visible between his cheeks. He gives it a tap. "There we go." He tugs the concubine up onto his knees and cuffs his wrists, then clips the chain of the cuffs to the chain of his collar. It keeps him from putting his hands any lower than his nipples. 

"Master," he gasps. 

Ruohan places him on the floor. "Kneel, and think about what you did wrong." He turns back to A-Cheng. "Lay out for me, my lotus. Let me make you feel good."

A-Cheng spreads himself out, and Ruohan gives him an indulgent smile. "Yes. That's it, A-Cheng."

A full-body shudder takes him. 

The emperor uses cultivation to warm his hands to a pleasant  temperature, before he lays them on A-Cheng's back, and starts kneading. "Oh, you're so tense, even now. Even after almost a month of my tender care. My poor little lotus. How long is it going to take me to undo all the damage such a hard life did to you?" He gently traces the violent scar that curls around his right side, left behind by the discipline whip. A-Cheng tenses, and then moans when the emperor lets a heavy wash of cultivation seep into the damaged skin, soothing the constant pain. Moans are the only noise that A-Cheng can make, now, and they're very quiet and soft. 

"The world has been so cruel to you," he goes on, gentling his voice as much as he can into a sweet, soft purr. "Your cruel family never appreciated your potential, my lotus, or all your hard work."

A-Cheng trembles. Ruohan soothes him with another long, firm wave of cultivation down his spine. "Master will not do that to you." He kisses the back of his neck. "I see you for what you are, A-Cheng. Beautiful. Strong. Worthy." A knot dissolves under Ruohan's left hand. Lifting himself, he straddles A-Cheng's legs. "Hush. Just take your reward. You performed so well, did everything I asked to the letter. You've worked yourself to exhaustion for me, darling, at the banquet and just now, fucking A-Xuan so well. Master appreciates all your hard work." He presses into the hard muscles in A-Cheng's lower back. "Oh, so strong. So handsome." He slides down to get better access to A-Cheng's body.

When he reaches his concubine's ass, the firm touch makes him jolt. 

"Shh, my lotus. You're sore here too, I'm sure of it." He kisses one of those firm, round globes. "Let master take care of it." 

He squeezes and massages A-Cheng's asscheeks, pulling them apart and then pushing them back together, digging into the plush muscle with his thumbs. A-Cheng moans again, and pushes up into the emperor's hold. 

"So good for me," Ruohan purrs. He spreads A-Cheng's cheeks again to look at his hole. It's tightly closed up, since Ruohan did not have him wear a plug at the banquet. Bending his head, he gives that pucker a soft kiss. 

A-Cheng jolts. Ruohan chuckles, and drops a few tiny kitten licks on the rim as well before looking up. "I will come back to this spot, my lotus, since you seem to like it so much. All your muscles deserve a good massage, don't you think?" 

A-Cheng's shake of the head is so tiny, Ruohan almost misses it. The denial the truth serum brings out of him, the fact that his poor lotus still believes at his heart he is unworthy and lesser, is charming. Sad, too, but charming. 

It works very well to Ruohan's advantage, though. He thinks that, in another few months, he'll have A-Cheng as devoted to him as Lan Xichen is to Yao'er.

"Yes, you deserve to feel good," he purrs. "You work so hard for your master, let him reward you."

He massages all the way down both of A-Cheng's long, gorgeous legs. He's as tightly wound here as he is everywhere else. Well, until Ruohan gets his hands on him. He massages his ankles, calves, thighs, his feet, until A-Cheng is melted. Then he flips him over and does the same to his chest. 

A-Cheng is hard as a rock again. Ruohan chuckles, kneading his pectorals. "Does A-Cheng like it when his master praises him and touches him?"

He nods. Even though A-Cheng can't speak, the truth serum works just as effectively. Maybe even more so. He is blushing as bright as an apple, nipples peaked, relaxed into the bed and so soft and pretty and pliant, except for his erection. 

Ruohan gives A-Cheng's stomach some attention, massaging his abs. "A-Cheng has been such a good boy. A-Cheng can have another reward, for being so good." 

The boy's eyes glitter hopefully. 

"Would you like to come, A-Cheng?"

He nods. 

"Why don't I give you some options, and you can tell me which you like best?" He rubs A-Cheng's hips, then trails back up to his pecs. Ruohan loves squeezing and playing with them, defined as they are, and judging by how A-Cheng's cock jumps, he likes it too. 

"Option one: Master will suck your cock, swallow it and warm it, and give your poor tense ass and tight hole a nice, firm massage with his fingers until you come." 

A-Cheng shivers. His pupils are huge. 

"Or, option two: Master will open up your hole so slowly, so gently, until it can take his cock, and he will make love to you on your back while massaging and kissing these lovely tits." He squeezes his nipples to drive the point home. "Which would my lotus prefer?"

With huge eyes and blown pupils, A-Cheng holds up two fingers. 

Wen Ruohan smiles. He keeps it gentle, indulgent. "Good boy. Turn over for master."

A-Cheng rolls over again. He grabs a vial of oil, the fragrant and sweet-tasting flower oil he seldom uses, mainly because it is expensive. But his lotus is worth it. 

He spreads his lotus open, drizzles the sweet oil on his hole like the delicious dessert that it is, and goes to work with his tongue and fingers. The round muscle, clenched tight like all of A-Cheng usually is until Ruohan gets his hands on him, yields under the gentle but firm attention, the cultivation that prickles along the emperor's fingers and the warmth of his tongue. 

"Good boy, A-Cheng," he husks. "Relax and open up for your master." 

Ruohan stretches him out on four fingers, making him squirm and give those pretty little moans, made so quiet and adorable by the modification to his throat. He uses almost all of the sweet oil, but he expected to. There can't possibly be a better way to enjoy it than licking it out of his lotus' petals. He can afford to buy more.

"There we go," he murmurs, giving A-Cheng's hole a final farewell kiss. "Turn over for me, A-Cheng, so master can see your face while he makes love to you."

The speed at which he rolls over is so quick that Ruohan worries the boy will give himself whiplash. It's another sweet little quirk of A-Cheng's: he is so incredibly love-starved. Ruohan thinks this would not be nearly so effective if he were a younger man, even though his high cultivation level keeps his body fit and his looks youthful, the confidence and bearing that comes with his age and his many years of leading a sect are what truly makes A-Cheng weak in the knees. 

As pretty as Fengmian was, the man was a terrible father to poor A-Cheng. He suspects the man did no better with Wei Wuxian, despite his adopted son being his clear favorite. It's a shame Wei Wuxian had to die, he was pretty too, in his own way. But he was too dangerous. Regardless, A-Cheng has enough daddy issues on his own to fill an entire sect. 

Which is fine. Preferable, even, since it means that his lotus eagerly spreads his legs, smiling a little bit as Ruohan slings them over his shoulders. He strokes through the emperor's hair and throws his head back when he's entered, his warm body and well-stretched hole moulding around Ruohan's cock. 

A-Cheng comes untouched as the emperor fucks him slowly, tenderly, massaging his defined pectorals. He kisses his nipples and his throat, and then his mouth, and that's what tips his lotus over the edge: a deep kiss from his master, a deep thrust into his hungry asshole, and fingers digging deep into the muscles of his chest. 

Ruohan comes just a moment later, murmuring in A-Cheng's ear. 

"Such a good boy, taking your master's load without complaining. So much better than A-Xuan."

A-Cheng clings, and doesn't let Ruohan withdraw from his body for quite a while. When he finally does, the emperor moves to invite A-Xuan back onto the bed. His lotus stops him. He glowers at A-Xuan and shakes his head.

"You don't want A-Xuan to sleep in the bed?" 

He shakes his head. 

Ruohan thinks it over. He likes that the natural rivalry between them is so fierce, he doesn't want them teaming up on him. They couldn't do much, but still. 

"Alright. You've been naughty, A-Xuan, and A-Cheng has been good, so if he wants you to sleep on the floor, you'll sleep on the floor." 

"But, master--"

"Hush." Ruohan waves the lights out. "Don't be naughty, and you won't have to again. But you've got to learn your lesson." He bundles up A-Cheng against his chest, cuddling him. "Go to sleep."

Ruohan wakes at four, an old habit he hates, but it gives him a chance to check on his peony before going back to sleep. A-Xuan is curled up on his side by Wen Ruohan. His face is messy with dried tears, and he's still crying quietly. 

The emperor picks him up and settles him in his lap. "Have you learned your lesson?" 

Sniffling, A-Xuan buries his face in Ruohan's chest. "Yes, master. I'm sorry, master."

Ruohan smiles. "Good boy." He lifts the blankets. "Here you are. It is still a few hours until sunrise."

He gratefully curls up against his master, his chilly body warming up, and quickly falls asleep. Ruohan pets his hair, then A-Cheng's. When his lotus wakes to find A-Xuan in bed with them, he will probably assume that he either whined enough to convince their master to let him back in the bed, using the fact that he could speak to earn favor, or just climbed in without permission. Either way, it will deepen the rift between them.