Over the course of the following week, Mei NianQing worked on refining Xie Lian's footwork, and the precision of his steps. It was still taxing, and Xie Lian was starting to miss Banyue. On top of that, he'd twisted his ankle the previous day, and the swelling just wouldn't go down. It got worse instead, but Xie Lian absolutely refused to let anyone notice; he didn't want to risk not performing for the king tonight after all.
Luckily, the Guoshi hadn't noticed anything off with his ankle, and just sent him off like he had last week.
Now that Xie Lian knew the way, he was allowed to go to the king's chambers by himself, which he was pretty happy about. Not that he minded having General NanYang around him, it was just that he enjoyed every little bit of freedom he could get his hands on.
There were more significant differences to last time however, which were that, one, the musician's booth was separated by a screen that could not be seen through, and two, the king was already lounging on his divan this time, casually eating whatever fruits were in the bowl beside him.
Xie Lian bowed hurriedly.
"I'm late, pray Your Majesty forgive me."
"You're forgiven. And you're not late. However, I don't think I heard you calling me correctly", the king said while raising his eyebrow.
Xie Lian sighed silently in relief. So the king wanted to play around again.
He smiled at the king softly, and made his way to the middle of the room.
"I'm sorry, San Lang."
The king smirked.
"Stop apologising so much, gege. If one were to hear us they would think us strangers."
"Well, how would San Lang like me today?", he asked in an inelegant attempt to change the topic.
The king definitely noticed, but didn't comment. Instead he just stared at Xie Lian for a while, before he leaned against the backrest of the divan.
"Dance however you feel like, gege. I'm sure I'll enjoy every single movement you deign to show me."
Since Xie Lian had come here with the expectation of getting into the same playful mood as last time, he'd decided to wear a lavender coloured garment, however now that the king was staring at him with that intense eye of his, he wished he'd gone for the black and red one. It would be much more befitting of his current mood, but alas it couldn't be helped.
Playful it was, he decided, and started dancing.
For a while, his ankle didn't bother him too much, but the dull ache turned into a piercing pain the more he moved his feet. Xie Lian was good at enduring pain, and didn't let anything show on his face. However when he made the same step that had caused this injury in the first place, his ankle protested to the point of giving in, and Xie Lian tumbled to the ground ungracefully. He hurried to get up and keep dancing, but his ankle apparently had enough of being ignored, and his attempt at standing up, ended with him falling to the floor once more.
"Gege!", Xie Lian heard the king exclaim, but he didn't dare to look at him. "Gege, what's wrong?", he asked, and was beside him in a flash, kneeling down right next to Xie Lian.
"Nothing! Nothing, I just got dizzy, I'm sorry Your Majesty had to witness such clum-"
"Gege… don't lie to me", the king said, and he sounded sad.
The tone in his voice had surprised Xie Lian so much he inadvertently looked up at him.
"If you had been dizzy, you should have been unsteady, and swayed at least a little bit before going down completely, no? This looked like you hurt yourself", the king continued, even his face looking troubled.
Xie Lian lowered his head in shame at having been caught in his lie.
"I'm sorry. I thought I could get through at least two dances", Xie Lian admitted dejectedly.
The king's frown deepened.
"So you were already injured before you came here?"
Xie Lian nodded.
"I twisted my ankle yesterday. It's really not a big deal."
"Then why didn't you cancel for today?", the king asked, looking honestly upset.
For a short moment Xie Lian considered lying, but since the king had just proven to be able to see through his lies without effort, he didn't dare, and spilled the truth.
"... I wanted to see you", he mumbled.
The king initially looked like he was ready to lecture him, but upon hearing Xie Lian's reason, he looked positively bewildered, before another emotion took over his face, though Xie Lian wasn't quite sure what it was. It wasn't exactly regret, nor surprise, but something not dissimilar.
The king stared at him quietly, before he exhaled, and his shoulders sagged.
"Don't hurt yourself just because you want to see me, gege. If you want to see me, you can come find me whenever. Or ask General NanYang if you don't know where I am."
"What if I don't have any particular reason to want to see you?"
"Who said you needed a reason? If gege wants to see me, I'll naturally make time for him", he said in surprising earnestness. Before Xie Lian could answer, he continued talking. "Show me your ankle", he ordered.
Xie Lian didn't want to, but he wasn't about to disobey the king. So he stretched his leg out, thankful that the cuff hid the swelling well. However before he could feel properly relieved about that, the king started to deftly take the cuff off, followed by the ring on his toe, and then proceeded to pull the fabric up, until his ankle was fully exposed. Once the king saw the whole state of his ankle, his frown deepened even more, to the point where he almost looked scary.
"You shouldn't do something like this to yourself, especially not because you want to see me", he once again chided gently, and then surprised him by briskly gathering Xie Lian in his arms, holding him with one arm under his knees, and the other behind his back. Xie Lian had reflexively clutched onto the king's shoulders out of sheer befuddlement.
"San Lang?"
The king gave him a smile that seemed almost sinister.
"We're going to the infirmary, gege."
Xie Lian immediately started struggling.
"That is completely unnecessary. It'll heal by itself in a few days."
However, the king's hold on him was strong and unyielding, and the worst thing was, Xie Lian actually liked being held by the king like this! Out of mortification at that particular realisation,he stopped struggling, crossed his arms, and pouted, pointedly looking away from him.
"Gege can pout as much as he likes", San Lang said loftily, and started walking.
Once they stepped outside the gates of his private chambers, four of the guards who had been positioned to stand outside the gate, started following them without prompting.
Xie Lian was vexed at having people witness his weakness.
"San Lang", he whined, feeling somewhat pitiful because of the humiliation.
"Hm?"
"Put me down. I can walk!"
"No gege, you really can't."
"Please?", Xie Lian tried again.
The king gave him an amused sideways glance.
"No."
This king really was ruthless, Xie Lian thought to himself with a sigh, and momentarily gave up.
San Lang, the king , Xie Lian corrected his thoughts, completely refused to put him down until they arrived in the infirmary, which told Xie Lian several things about him.
First, the king was stubborn as a mule.
Second, the king had incredible arm and core strength to be able to carry a fully grown male, (former) military general for such a distance. And without breaking a sweat!
Third, he was immune to begging, pleading, whining and blackmail. Xie Lian had tried each of those methods at one point or another during their journey, and nothing had worked.
Really, this king was incredibly hard to deal with , Xie Lian grumbled in his head.
Once the king stepped foot inside the infirmary, everyone and everything came to a standstill.
"Where is-", the king started, but got interrupted by Shi QingXuan barreling out of one of the rooms.
He stopped short when he saw the king, and took a quick moment to estimate the situation, before he walked up to San- the king, and bowed.
"Your Majesty. Uh… would you like to carry him into the room yourself or would you like me to take him?", he asked, effectively making Xie Lian feel like a sack of rice.
"I'll carry him. Lead the way."
Shi QingXuan led them to a room Xie Lian hadn't been in before. This one was much more luxurious than the other rooms he'd seen of the infirmary so far. There was only one bed in it, too. Said bed was rather big and looked much too comfortable to be placed in an infirmary. Honestly, it felt more like a royal bedroom to Xie Lian. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this room was reserved in case the king ever needed serious medical treatment.
The king placed him on said bed gently, and sat down on it as well, though with his back facing Xie Lian. He then proceeded to free his ankle once more.
"Gege got hurt dancing for me", San Lang said in a tone as if it was supposed to explain it all.
It seemed that just before San Lang had started talking, Shi QingXuan had taken a breath, because he choked on it the moment he heard the word 'gege' come out of the king's mouth, and started coughing uncontrollably.
San Lang had unclothed his ankle in the meantime, and was now patiently waiting for Shi QingXuan to get a hold of himself, his hand gently resting on Xie Lian's leg.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty", the doctor wheezed. "What have you done to your ankle, Xie Lian?", he then continued to ask as if nothing had happened.
"I twisted my ankle. I already said it's nothing serious, and that it will go away by itself. But San Lang- I- I mean His Majesty won't listen", he explained, and threw a gloomy look at the person in question. For a short moment he was worried about his slip up in calling the king something like that outside the entertainment room, but he only received an unrepentant grin in return and could do nothing but sigh.
"Sa- What is wrong with you two!?", Shi QingXuan exploded in confusion. "Never mind, forget I said anything. Your Majesty, Xie Lian is right, if it's just a twisted ankle, all I can do is tell him to make sure he rests, keeps his foot elevated, and wrap it up a bit... definitely make sure he rests", he added after a short moment of contemplation.
Xie Lian immediately pointed an accusing finger at Shi QingXuan when he heard the implication in that last sentence he spoke.
"I refuse to be chained to the bed again!", he said firmly.
San Lang stiffened next to him, and only then did Xie Lian realise how such a thing must have sounded. He couldn't see the king's face, but he didn't think the look on it was pleasant. Which was why he succumbed to his urge to grab the king's sleeve, in an attempt to do- something. Xie Lian couldn't quite explain to even himself why he'd grabbed the man, or what it was supposed to help.
"What is the meaning of this? Why were you chained to the bed, gege?", he asked, sounding incredibly tense and displeased.
Unbiddenly, the story the guoshi had told him came back to his mind upon seeing San Lang's furious expression once he turned his head towards him; and Xie Lian panicked to the point where he didn't even remember to try and not let his emotions blend into his scent.
"It's not what you think!", he hurried to say.
"Oh? And what do I think?"
"I don't know! But Shi QingXuan did it for my own good, really. I never would've stayed in bed if he didn't ensure I'd stay put with those chains, and I would've aggravated my wounds much, much worse and they would've healed much more slowly. So please don't be angry", Xie Lian hurriedly tried to calm the king down, though he only succeeded in making him frown even deeper.
"Gege… why is your scent so sour? Are you… are you scared of me?", he asked in disbelief.
"I'm not scared of you. I just don't want- I don't want you to punish my doctor because of me, and especially not because of some sort of misunderstanding."
The king gave him a long look, an unreadable expression on his face, before he eventually turned to look at Shi QingXuan.
"Was it really necessary to chain him to the bed?", he demanded.
"It was indeed a necessary precaution, yes", Shi QingXuan said unflinchingly.
After another long moment, the king sighed heavily.
"Alright, I won't inquire further in that matter, because gege asked nicely. But in exchange, I want gege to let me take care of him without fussing."
Xie Lian blinked, elated that San Lang was so easily convinced, but also confused.
"Aren't you the one fussing for no reason?", he asked, instead of giving a proper answer.
San Lang smirked.
"I might be. But you can't blame me for wanting to ensure my favourite is nursed back to health properly."
His favourite? Surely he meant to say his favourite dancer?
"San Lang", he started, but got interrupted by Shi QingXuan, causing San Lang to look rather annoyed.
"You two can keep bantering while I take care of your ankle, but His Majesty needs to move for me in order to do that. I do have other patients waiting for me, you know?", Shi QingXuan said, and respectfully elbowed his way past San Lang. Who looked amused by it, but did make space.
"San Lang", Xie Lian tried again. "I'm already healthy. I just have a minor injury. You really don't need to worry about me."
San Lang looked at him for a moment, before he reached his hand out, and touched Xie Lian's face; his thumb stroking over his cheek gently.
"I know. But I still want to take care of you", he said even more gently than his touch was.
Xie Lian didn't quite know how to deal with this, and blushed scarlet.
So he looked at Shi QingXuan for help, to talk some sense into the king.
Which turned out to be a mistake.
"Well, Your Majesty, he doesn't really need much taking care of, but if you insist, you can always make sure he eats well, is comfortable, maybe has something to read to entertain himself with while you're busy…", he said conversationally, before his smile turned slightly sadistic. "Of course you could also give him a bath, I have some very soothing mixtures you can add to the water. It's really good for any sort of injury. And of course if you want to take care of his mental well being as well, cuddling is always recommended."
San Lang gave Shi QingXuan an incredibly amused look, while Xie Lian could only gape, too stunned by the audacity of his doctor to misuse his position like this.
"That is some very sound advice, doctor", San Lang said seriously. "I will heed as much of it as I can."
Shi QingXuan nodded, grinned at Xie Lian, proceeded to give him an exaggerated wink, and then left.
"San La-... Your Majesty. Really, I'm fine. There's no need to bother you with this", Xie Lian tried for the very last time.
"It's not a bother at all. Who's tending to you in your temporary quarters?"
Xie Lian blinked.
"I don't know. There is indeed always food on the table for all three meals, but I've never seen the person taking care of it.
San Lang frowned.
"Is something wrong with that?", Xie Lian wondered.
"No, not at all. I can guess who it is. I just thought Yin Yu would have ordered someone else to take care of it, instead of doing it himself. However", San Lang said, his frown changing into a smile. "Even though you're in good hands with him, will you consider staying in my chambers until your foot is healed?"
Xie Lian took his time to consider it.
If he was honest to himself, it was the perfect excuse to spend some extra time with San Lang, even if he couldn't dance for him. Which, Xie Lian found, he'd really like. The king was certainly odd, not at all how he'd imagined, and since he had now heard two very different takes on the king's personality, he was curious and really wanted to get to know him better, to come to his own decision. Because so far, he still really liked the king.
But.
"I… don't really want to sleep in that bed", he said quietly, and could feel the colour of his face already turning darker. He didn't want to know what sorts of things had happened in that bed in the entertainment room exactly, but Xie Lian felt itchy just thinking about having to lie down in a bed where things definitely had happened.
San Lang looked confused.
"What bed ar- oh. Gege", he said, once realisation had dawned on him. "You can't possibly think that is where I'd settle you, please don't insult me like this. Apart from my own, there are two more bedrooms in my private quarters, each of them entirely unused."
Oh.
"In that case, I'd love to be San Lang's guest."
The king's face lit up with a smile, and he didn't waste any time picking Xie Lian up again.
Xie Lian yelped in surprise, since he hadn't expected to be lifted so abruptly, and instinctively clutched onto San Lang's shoulders again .
He sighed, feeling some amusement through his exasperation.
"Let's not waste any time then, gege", he said, and started walking back to his chambers, carrying Xie Lian all the way again.