A/N: Translations: shiwei = guard
Jiang Wanyin was irritated. This was the first time he had to share his seating position with anyone. Now that Xiao Xingchen had been promoted to noble consort, the omega sat beside him instead of below the dais with the other concubines. The worst thing about the situation was that he couldn't even be angry with Noble Consort Xingchen. The omega was beyond sweet, always deferring to him, making sure he was served first and never offended when snapped at. Xiao Xingchen continued to answer him in the sweetest and most respectful of ways. It was downright irritating.
Perhaps it was his approaching heat that was making him more irritable than normal. He knew it would be here in the next couple of weeks and his anxiety was increasing with each day. The endless questions of whether he would be able to conceive this time echoed in his head endlessly. He was from a long lineage of omegas that bore countless offspring that presented as alphas, never failing their family to secure their positions. And here he was years later, with only one princess to his name. His alpha mother had scolded him countless times and asked what was wrong with him and why he was such a useless omega.
With all the fertility herbs he'd been sent by the empress dowager, Jiang Wanyin knew if he didn't get pregnant this time, the empress dowager would be greatly disappointed. He prayed the emperor would stay longer than usual during his heat this time. One of the side effects of the fertility herbs was that it would be a long and painful heat. The emperor had never stayed more than he needed, knotting him once to make sure that most of the pain subsided and then leaving him alone to deal with the rest of his heat.
It wasn't that he longed for the company of the emperor, but the chances of pregnancy increased with the number of times the emperor knotted him. During his younger years, self-assured and cocky, he believed it would be easy to conceive and was grateful to be left to his own devices once the initial pain of his heat was gone. Now that he was older, he desperately wanted the emperor to stay and knot him several times.
He looked over to the emperor who was watching the martial arts dance. Over the emperor's shoulder, he caught the omega manservant observing him with curiosity. Jiang Wanyin narrowed his eyes and glared at the omega. How dare the lowly manservant look directly at him. Who did he think he was? Dressed in Lan colours, when not long ago he was a whore for the Jin. He'd need to talk to Concubine Chengmei about it. Xue Yang had proven to be a wonderful source of information. In addition to being a gossipmonger, the concubine had quite a warped sense of morals, which made him the perfect tool to be used.
"Noble Consort Wanyin?" The emperor's sharp tone pulled him from his thoughts.
Startled, he snapped his eyes from the omega manservant and bowed his head. He then lifted it to regard the emperor. "Yes, your majesty?"
"Are you well?" he asked.
Jiang Wanyin was taken aback by his question which in turn almost had a hint of a warning in it. "I - I'm fine, your majesty. Thank you for asking."
"Why are you not watching the dance?"
The noble consort opened his mouth and then closed it again, not able to find an excuse.
"The dance lacks elegance and is boorish," the empress dowager interjected. Lan Qiren clapped his hands twice, stopping the performance. "It's no wonder Noble Consort Wanyin's attention wandered."
Eunuch Nie waved them off. "Perhaps, your majesty, we should call for the musicians?"
"No need," the empress dowager said. "I hear the manservant at your side is quite talented with the flute. Have him entertain us."
Jiang Wanyin was shocked when the emperor didn't immediately defer to his royal mother's request. Instead, the royal mother and son sat without speaking, neither of them backing down. The silence was becoming uneasy and the rest of court seemed to be catching onto what was happening on the dais. He couldn't understand it, the omega was just a servant so why was the emperor not agreeing to the empress dowager's request. How dare the emperor act so unfilial towards the empress dowager for a mere manservant?
The silent standoff between the emperor and empress dowager continued. The omega manservant remained where he was staring down at the floor. Any other servant would be kneeling in front of the empress dowager asking what he would like to hear. Jiang Wanyin wished he had Zidian with him, he'd whip the insolence from the omega who dared think he was above all others. So caught up in his anger he was unaware that Xiao Xingchen had risen from his seat until he was kneeling in front of the emperor and empress dowager.
"Your majesty, I have recently been practicing Plum Blossom Melodies. His majesty said he was looking forward to hearing it," Noble Consort Xingchen said.
"Indeed, I have been waiting to hear your progress," the emperor replied.
"If your majesty would allow me to play, I will gladly submit myself to your criticism," Xiao Xingchen said, sweetly. "However, the piece is usually accompanied by the flute and would sound much better with it."
The emperor nodded. "This is true."
Jiang Wanyin noted how the omega manservant had lifted his head and removed the flute from his belt.
Eunuch Nie was immediately calling for a small table and chair to be set up. Xiao Xingchen descended the stairs followed by the manservant. Once the noble consort was seated and comfortable the manservant stood off to the side and lifted the flute to his lips.
Jiang Wanyin had to hand it to Xiao Xingchen, the noble consort managed to rectify the situation seamlessly, saving face for both the emperor and empress dowager. However, the whole exchange left him feeling unsettled. Partway through the performance he chanced a glance in the emperor's direction, only to find his gaze focused intently on the omega manservant. He quickly averted his eyes before the emperor noticed, the unsettled feeling grew tenfold. Had he been so focused on the rise of Xiao Xingchen that he did not see this sudden outside threat? He fidgeted with the jade amulet at his hip and and tried not to let his anxiety show on his face.
Perhaps he was overreacting. The omega was nothing but a lowly manservant and even if the emperor fancied him, it could be nothing more than a dalliance. Plenty of emperors had done it before; short-lived affairs to pass the time and nothing ever came of it. Yes, of course... it was normal, even a gourmet craved street food once in a while. He had nothing to worry about. How could a mere manservant compare with someone like himself, with noble bloodlines that went back for generations. Jiang Wanyin settled back into his seat, feeling a bit better. This manservant would be the same as all others. He was sure the omega would be discarded off to the side once Lan Wangji had his fun.
*****
The Noble Consort Wanyin had gone into heat. Wei Wuxian was grateful when the emperor had ordered him to stay with Eunuch Wen. His wolf would have tried to claw itself out of him if he had to stand outside and listen to the alpha couple with another omega. Currently, his wolf was sullen and somewhat resentful of their situation.
"So, what do we do for the next couple of days while the emperor is ... busy?" He didn't want to think about what the emperor was doing at the moment. He rubbed at his chest, his insides crackling like dry kindling.
"Days?" Wen Ning questioned.
Wei Wuxian sighed. "It will take a few days for the noble consort's heat to subside, won't it?"
"The emperor rarely stays for more than a few hours," Wen Ning said as if this was common knowledge.
"Only a few hours? But that would just be enough to ease the noble consort's heat," he said frowning. "Why doesn't he stay till the end?"
Wen Ning shrugged. "I've heard he's only stayed for more than a few hours once, and that was with Noble Consort Xingchen."
It made sense that Lan Zhan would stay with his favourite consort for the longest period of time. Of all the alphas he'd met, there were none who had more control over their wolf than Lan Zhan did. Not since that time in the practice arena had Lan Zhan lost control of his wolf. He couldn't say if he was happy or frustrated that the alpha didn't desire him in that way. His wolf on the other hand was miserable and considerably dejected at the alpha's lack of interest.
"Why didn't he take you with him? You could essentially be a guard if anyone would take this opportunity to try to assassinate him," Wei Wuxian asked.
"I can't go with him. I have a condition where the scent of an omega in heat makes me physically sick," Wen Ning answered. "The only exception is close family members or those that I care about."
"Really? I've never heard that happening with anyone."
"It's a rare condition," Wen Ning explained. "Anyways, his majesty doesn't need me there. He can protect himself just fine when the consorts and concubines go into heat. He only needs me when he goes into rut. Eunuch Nie and the minister keep the palace affairs in order when the emperor is in rut, while I stand outside as the attending eunuch."
"You're his last line of defence." Wei Wuxian said, in understanding. "Basically, what you do for the emperor during his rut what was what I did for Jin Guangshan on the regular."
"The King of Jin does not have time now to indulge. He's too busy preparing for the war," Wen Ning stated with a hint of a smile.
"I'm sure the brothels are in despair at the loss of the gold they receive with his visits. The worst was when Jin Guangshan was in rut, I would have to stand guard for at least a couple of days." Wei Wuxian said, wrinkling his nose at the memory. "Does his majesty's ruts last long?"
"For about a week?" Wen Ning said with a shrug.
"A week!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed. "Why does it take so long."
"He doesn't share his rut with anyone."
Wei Wuxian frowned in confusion. "But he has a whole harem of omegas."
"His majesty has his reasons," Wen Ning said, simply.
The omega could tell that the eunuch wasn't going to disclose any more information on the topic. He'd have to ask Lan Zhan why he didn't take any omegas to help ease his rut. With all this discussion about heats and ruts, he suddenly remembered his own predicament. "Wen Ning, do you think... do you think I could speak to Wen taiyi about something personal?"
"My sister is known to be very discreet, but of course her loyalty to his majesty..."
"I promise it doesn't affect his majesty at all. It's my heat. I need to see her about my heats," he explained.
Wen Ning nodded in understanding. "She wants to check my wound. You should come with me."
Wei Wuxian was relieved. Since the beta would need to traverse through the secret passage to see the Imperial doctor, then he'd be guaranteed privacy from prying eyes.
"We should go now so when the emperor returns, we will be back," Wen Ning said.
They traversed the passageway in silence. Wei Wuxian noted the comfort he felt in the presence of the beta. Since the night Wen Ning tumbled out of the secret passageway, the two of them had been in each other's company more often. He had helped watch over him whenever Wen taiyi was busy with her duties, and thus the beta's demeanor was quite different with him than with others. For one thing he didn't pretend to be the timid eunuch and insisted that Wei Ying call him Wen Ning and not Wen gong gong or Wen shiwei when no one was around.
"Jie-jie," Wen Ning greeted his sister.
"I don't have much time," she said, motioning him over.
He shook his head. "My wound is fine. If you don't have time, then please see to Manservant Wei. He needs to talk to you about something," he said, directing his sister's attention to omega. "I'll wait outside."
"I-I'm sorry," stammered Wei Wuxian. "Wen Ning he..."
"It's fine. He was healing nicely the last time I checked. I just wanted to make sure," she said with a sigh. "He might be the spy master for the emperor, but in my mind, he'll always be that little boy that tagged along after me wherever I went." She stared past Wei Wuxian to where her brother just exited with a fond look. "Now what can I do for you?" she said, her disposition changing back to one of professionalism.
"When working for the Jin, I was given a tea to prevent my heats," he said. "I was wondering if you had the herbs necessary to make this tea."
"I do," she said, frowning, "but drinking this tea and preventing your heats will have long-term side effects?"
"Yes, I've been told," he said. "I know that it might affect my chances of conceiving in the future."
"Yet you still want to take them?" she said. "Here at Gusu we allow for omega servants to take a leave when they enter into their heat. There is a safe place for them to stay and it is a death penalty for anyone that takes advantage of an omega in heat. It is the same for the guards that go into rut. You should have no fear here if you were to go into heat."
"I would prefer not to go into heat at all," Wei Wuxian said. "My job besides being a manservant is to protect the emperor as his personal guard. I can't do that if I go into heat."
"He would understand," she insisted. "If you should meet somebody one day and wish to mate..."
"I won't" Wei Wuxian said with finality. "I will serve the emperor for the rest of my life. I'm not interested in finding a mate."
She regarded him for a long moment, and then her eyes softened. "I see," she said, glancing away from him. Wei Wuxian wasn't quite sure what she meant, but he thought he caught a look of pity cross her face before she looked away. "I will have Wen Ning bring you the herbs you need to make the tea."
"Thank you," he said with a bow.
"Wei Wuxian," Wen Qing called out to him as he was about to leave.
"Yes?"
"The inner palace is a complicated place to be," she warned. "If... if you should ever need my help..."
His gaze held hers and he could see the sincerity in her eyes.
"For helping and taking care of my brother," she said.
He nodded and his eyes crinkled into crescents with the broadness of his smile.
*****
Lan Wangji entered into his quarters followed by a manservant and eunuch. He found Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian removing food from atop the table he usually had his meals on.
"Your majesty," they said in unison while bowing.
He glanced quizzically at the dishes on the table. "Is something wrong with the food?"
"We were expecting you sooner," Wei Wuxian explained. "The manservant returned a while ago and said you were on your way back from the Palace of Divine Light. The dishes are cold now, so we were going to send them back to the kitchen and have them prepare something else."
"It's fine," he said, coming to sit at the table.
"But your majesty," Wei Wuxian objected. "Nie Gong gong will be extremely upset if he heard you ate cold food. He says it's not good for your stomach."
"Nie gong gong is not here," Lan Zhan said simply. He picked up his chopsticks and looked over at Wei Wuxian waiting for him to place some food on his plate.
The omega fell into his role immediately reaching to the far end of the table to one of the emperor's favourite dishes with his chopsticks and transferring it onto the little plate at Lan Wangji's side. The meal continued in silence until he put his chopsticks down. "Wei Wuxian, come help me change," he said. "Wen gong gong, you follow as well."
They left the manservant and eunuch to clean up and take the dirty dishes back to the imperial kitchen. Once they heard the doors to the outer room close, the emperor nodded at Wen Ning. The spy master stepped back out to check if the room was clear and then hurried back.
"Wen Ning, I know you are eager to find out more information on the group that attempted to kill Wei Ying and thwart the trade, but you are to stay here for the next few weeks," the emperor said.
"Yes, your majesty," Wen Ning replied.
"You are dismissed."
The spy master's bow was stiff, either from his injury or because he was unhappy with his orders. Lan Zhan surmised it was likely the latter of the two reasons.
"Why do you want him to stay?" Wei Ying asked.
"His wound is not fully healed and the group that he was tracking will now be doubly cautious. They'll go to the extremes to hide their identity."
Wei Ying settled into a chair and pulled one leg up and rested his chin on his knee. He appeared sombre and lost in his thoughts. Lan Zhan waited, knowing the omega wanted to say something but was contemplating how to say it. He sat and poured himself a cup of tea.
The manservant's voice was quiet when he spoke. "You went to take a bath."
There seemed to be a question in that statement somewhere and Lan Zhan considered his answer before speaking. "I assumed you would prefer that I did not reek of another omega."
Wei Ying frowned while he fiddled with the hem of his sleeve. "Why would it matter?"
"Did I assume wrong?"
"No," he answered with a shake of his head, "but..."
Lan Zhan watched as the omega chewed on his bottom lip. He wanted to run his thumb over the crease between his brows and soothe his bottom lip with his own. "But?"
"Never mind, you must be tired after all the ... um you know," Wei Ying said, flushing. He dropped his leg to the ground and stood. "I should leave you to rest."
"Stay and finish your sentence," Lan Zhan said, firmly.
Wei Ying sighed and began to pace, becoming more flustered with every step he took. The omega finally stopped in front of him, his hands were at his side, nervously clenching at his robes. "Lan Zhan, you confuse me. You keep me at arm's length, but then you do something like this and it makes me think..."
"I have told you that you mean more to me than just a mere manservant," he said, hoping to calm the omega's unease.
"But the fact is that I am a manservant and I don't hope to be more than one. I'd prefer nothing more than to stay by your side like this, but you confuse me. Why should it matter if I feel bothered that you smell like another omega? It's not like we are intimate with each other." Wei Ying averted his eyes with the last few words in his sentence.
Lan Zhan calmly put his cup down onto the table. "I see," he said, simply.
Wei Ying stared at him and he stared back. "I see? Is that all you have to say Lan Zhan? I don't believe it." He raised his arms up in disbelief. "I see. After everything I said, you answer with two words. Aish, I don't even understand what my wolf sees in you! You're beyond frustrating." He began pacing again. "One minute, you're about to wolf out on me and then the next you're all 'your virtue, Wei Ying. We can't be together,'" he said, mimicking the emperor.
"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan said, trying to calm the omega.
"No, Lan Zhan. Don't Wei Ying me. Emperor or not, I'm upset with you," he huffed. "I need to be alone."
Lan Zhan didn't stop him as he stormed out of the room. Not once had anyone left his presence without being formally dismissed. With Wei Ying, he allowed him such freedoms to behave in any manner he desired. Without all the formalities, this allowed for a more genuine relationship, one he felt was more intimate than any other that he had ever experienced before. So, although they weren't physically intimate, he felt closer to Wei Ying than to any other person he'd ever known.
In some ways, he knew he was being selfish. If he kept Wei Ying as his personal manservant, then he could see him all of the time, and Wei Ying would be allowed to behave however he wanted when there was no one around. Harem omegas, on the other hand, had their own palaces, strict tradition and rituals to abide by, and weren't allowed to attend state meetings. As anything other than a manservant, Wei Ying would be scrutinized by the court, the omegas in his harem, and worst of all the empress dowager. Additionally, being an omega in the imperial harem meant being forever trapped within the walls of Gusu, waiting for the emperor to flip a jade tablet. As a servant, Wei Ying could be given the choice to leave one day and maybe find himself a mate to love him like he deserved to be. A mate that could love him without the baggage of a harem, and a kingdom that would always come first.
A/N: Hi everyone, sorry I kept you waiting. Work for me is extremely busy and will likely continue this way till the middle of August. I will try my best to keep posting in the next few weeks, but won't be back to my regular Wednesday posting until August 23rd.
This chapter could use another edit... but I don't have the time. I hate posting subpar work but then it would mean not posting for the next 3-4 weeks. I'm guessing you'd rather read a mediocre chapter than nothing at all.
I promise for those that are waiting, there are sexy times up ahead.
❤️JJ