12 General of the South

Perhaps he was dreaming. In his heart, he didn't believe this scenario would ever happen—he wholeheartedly believed he wasn't worthy of such emotions.

Yet He An was in front of him, proving his thoughts wrong.

Qi Xiu lay there, mouth hanging open, unable to utter any words. His head had stopped working and he could only mumble a soft "oh," the realization dawning on him. The tips of his ears turned red.

He didn't question why he was nicknamed 'cub,' instead relishing on the momentary happiness.

The person in He An's heart was him.

"I accept Your Majesty's graciousness then..." His voice was a bit hoarse as he said so, but there was an eager acceptance that could be heard.

He An raised his eyebrows, not understanding what exactly the cub meant by his words but he nodded. He was just stating that Qi Xiu was like a son to him, why was his cub acting so shy?

He An thought to himself that he needed to bring up Qi Xiu's self esteem and make him more confident. Otherwise, he'll become an easier target for bullying.

"Alright, we'll sleep now. We can pretend the... actions from earlier never occurred." He An coughed. "I'll sleep on the floor."

Qi Xiu grabbed his hand and blushed. They had just established their relationship as lovers, how could he be willing to let He An sleep elsewhere? He wanted to keep him by his side all the time if he could.

He An stared at the hand that was holding his own.

"What's wrong?" He questioned.

"Your Majesty can sleep with me tonight..." Qi Xiu's voice trailed off, as if implying something different.

He An could see fireworks displaying in his mind. Did the cub trust him as a father figure now that he was willing to even let him sleep besides him? He suppressed tears of happiness and smiled gently.

"Alright."

*

Contrary to Qi Xiu's expectations, He An really didn't do anything else. He just slept, neither holding him nor doing anything else.

And in the morning, the Emperor awoke first—leaving first to go to the court while making Suyin attend to Qi Xiu's needs.

He was a bit disappointed. Was he being too selfish? Judging by He An's actions in this life, maybe the Emperor didn't want to take a step further for fear of scaring off Qi Xiu.

But he wanted to do it...

He spilt the tea he was drinking, face flushed red.

Qi Xiu, how could you be so shameless! To have such impure thoughts of that person...

"Concubine Xiu, are you alright!" The worried Suyin quickly cleaned up the mess and took the cup from him, filling up a brand new one and then serving it instead.

"I'm alright, miss Suyin." He took the new cup of tea and held it in his hands.

"You're just as careless as His Majesty!" She scolded. "And please do not call this servant 'miss,' others may judge you."

Qi Xiu felt happy at seeing how the maid was genuinely worried for him. As expected of He An's most trusted servant...

"Have you known His Majesty for a long time?" He prompted.

Suyin laughed, saying, "I've known His Majesty since we were children. I was only allowed to serve him food and clothing back then, however."

"Can you tell me about his childhood?" Qi Xiu was quite curious.

"I'm afraid I do not know. I can only tell you about his kindness towards me, but his personality... I didn't get to see much to be able to say anything." She was honest when speaking about her relationship with the Emperor.

Qi Xiu: "Oh."

"You could ask A-Feng. He was His Majesty's playmate, and now he became his guard!" At seeing the disappointed expression on the concubine's face, Suyin thought of an alternative to answer his questions.

"It's alright." He smiled slightly. "Um.. if I may ask, where is His Majesty?"

"Ah! I forgot that the concubine doesn't know yet. There are talks of war going on." She thought for a while before adding, "the South may officially declare war with us, but the Emperor hopes to prevent such from happening."

Then Suyin realized something.

"Oh my! This mouth of mine... the concubine is from the south, right? That might be why His Majesty didn't mention it to you—forget I ever told you." Suyin blurted her words out super quickly.

Qi Xiu stayed silent, still smiling, though it didn't reach his eyes.

*

"Your Majesty, you can't possibly be thinking of letting this chance go!" The prime minister was the first to object to his decision of not going to war.

"The south is at it's weakest now! They have no ruler, and their only crown prince disappeared years ago—you should completely crush them now!" Another official chimed in his thoughts.

He An raised his hand and immediately silenced them.

"Although what you say is true, they do have a general who is a genius at battle tactics. If we didn't win against that general before, what makes you think we'll win now?" He sneered, clasping his hands together.

"..."

Everyone in court couldn't refute him.

What He An said was correct.

The north has been attacking the south for almost three years now, but there's been a certain general keeping them back—even turning the tides on them often. Half their troops had been killed in sneak attacks and hidden traps, and nobody knew what that general was thinking.

If you looked into the situation, you could see that the north really didn't have a chance at winning. The stakes were too high.

"Now that you understand, I suggest one of you send them a letter for peace arrangements." He An watched as the officials racked their brains to think of an excuse and snickered.

In the end, nobody could come up with anything and the prime minister reluctantly agreed to send the letter.

He An dismissed them and called for the system.

Six: [Host, I'm here! ^v^]

He An: [What is the identity of that general from the south?]

Six took a moment to look through it's data before chirping, [Qi Xiu's closest friend, Yao Xuefeng. He was supposed to help Qi Xiu return to the south, but Qi Xiu died before Yao Xuefeng could find him.]

He An, thinking: [We need to find a way to contact him then. Let the cub reunite with his friend.]

Six agreed with it's host before adding, [Host, Yao Xuefeng has a nasty personality. He despises the north, so he would never agree to a peace treaty. He was the one who brought down the north after Qi Xiu's death! O_O]

He An had a dark smile on his face.

[We'll tell him we hold Qi Xiu hostage and the only way to release him is by signing the treaty.]

...

Six: [Didn't you say you'd never put Qi Xiu in danger!!!]

He An: [This doesn't count. Of course the cub isn't actually being held hostage, we just need to act like he is.]