[BL] Eternal Spring

第六章

A/N  Merry Christmas 2021 everyone!!!! Or happy holidays if you don't celebrate!! Hope y'all have a great day!!

Whenever the king was in his study, Liu Qingyuan stood guard by his side. He'd always ignore his teasing and pestering which, unfortunately, spurred more of it. The days quickly blended into a routine.

It was early afternoon and the king had returned to his rooms to change. Liu Qingyuan waited outside, surrounded by court ladies. He ignored the younger maids' glances. He'd been the subject of speculation ever since the banquet.

The doors opened, revealing Jiang Zhilan who now wore something more fitted. The skirt was shorter, revealing pants underneath and the sleeves were fitted. "Let's go," he said happily. Liu Qingyuan followed him to a field where more men were waiting, dressed in simpler forms of the king's attire.

"Your majesty!" They greeted heartily, falling into bows. Jiang Zhilan reciprocated by smiling brightly and waving.

"This," The king turned to Liu Qingyuan, "Is my cousin, Jiang Yu," he pointed to another man, "General Fu's son, Fu Wei. Councillor Zhao's sons, Zhao Yang and Zhao Feng..." He introduced all the men to Liu Qingyuan who inclined his head in greeting. "This is my bodyguard, Liu Liu Qingyuan." He was still trying to figure out what the king was trying to do.

"Okay! Let's play!" The men cheered in unison, heading out to the field. A couple court maids had stopped by the path, whispering in anticipation of the game. Liu Qingyuan stayed by Eunuch Shuang, finally noticing the erected goal posts. Ah, so they were playing Cuju.* "Aren't you coming?"

(*Cuju - Chinese ball game similar to soccer)

The king turned back, shooting an expectant look at Liu Qingyuan. He bowed his head in apology. "No thanks, your majesty." Jiang Zhilan grinned at the challenge. He approached him.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Liu Qingyuan kept silent, eyeing the growing crowd of spectators for the game. He didn't want to make a scene and draw even more attention to himself.

"Your majesty..."

"Ey, come on!" He bumped Liu Qingyuan's shoulder, and leaned in. "Do it for me, huh?" He teased, shooting him a wink. Liu Qingyuan blinked at him, bewildered. He cleared his throat, looking down at the light touch to his arm. Eunuch Shuang smiled up at him.

"This way, Mr. Liu."

"I-but I didn't-" Flustered, Liu Qingyuan glanced back at Jiang Zhilan's cheeky form as Eunuch Shuang led him away to change.

By the time he came back, abet fidgeting with the sleeve of his 'uniform', a small crowd of spectators had congregated. Liu Qingyuan sighed, thrusting his sword into Eunuch Shuang's arms. "Take care of it."

"Ah. Yes, Mr. Liu." He bowed accordingly. Liu Qingyuan eyed him. He seemed awfully compliant today. When Shuang caught his gaze, his smile fell. "What are you looking at?" Ah, there he was.

Liu Qingyuan approached the huddle of players. The king turned, tossing him a red strip of cloth. "Tie that to your arm, you can be part of Wei's team." Liu Qingyuan noticed the king himself had a blue cloth round his arm. His eyebrow twitched. They were opponents then.

The two teams lined up in parallel rows, eyes glued on the ball an Eunuch held. Behind him, a gong rang out, the ball was thrown and all became chaos.

The general's son snatched the ball, pushing past the blue team. But Zhao Feng tackled him, shouting at another teammate to steal the ball.

"Here!" Jiang Zhilan shouted, and his teammate kicked the ball to him. He scooped it up from the ground with his foot, spinning rapidly and kicking the ball half-way across the field towards red's goal. Liu Qingyuan lingered on the edge, observing the scene. Zhao Yang received the ball with a bump to the chest, kicking it towards the red goal. Liu Qingyuan darted forward, pushing into Zhao Yang's side. They went tumbling to the ground. He scrambled up, diving for the ball but arms wrapped around his waist, yanking him back. "Yu ge!"