Chapter 80 - Scarlet skies

As expected by Feng Long, the reply from Meng Zhang arrived the next morning. He was playing with Yu Lexuan in his room:

-Hey, just a second, Meng Zhang replied!

Yu Lexuan stops and follows him to the window. Feng Long carefully takes the letter and discovers another document:

-Meng Zhang sent two letters? -Yu Lexuan looks, a bit curious.
-Seems to be another document, well, let's read it.
-Please...

Feng Long and Yu Lexuan move away from the window and sit down together on a wooden bench. Yu Lexuan smiles, and reads the letter out:

-"Greetings from the emperor of Jiangxi, Meng Zhang. Feel free to visit my empire, and it is a good thing Zhejiang wants to review some of the commercial agreements we have. About the horses, you can use as many as you want, you just have to show the other paper I send you along with this letter. It contains my imperial seal, and authorization to both transit freely in the empire, and use our horses as needed. We are waiting for his majesty to be among us soon. Cordially, Meng Zhang, Jiangxi's Emperor."
-Well, it means we can already depart. - Feng Long smiles.
-As you wish... Let's call Zhong Kunyi, and say goodbye to Zhang Yi. 
-Right.

Feng Long and Yu Lexuan walk to Zhong Kunyi's room, asking him to get set. They then move to Zhang Yi's lab to say goodbye. Halfway, Feng Long asks a soldier to bring three racing horses they will use to cover the first spam.
After saying goodbye to Zhang Yi, they get together close to their horses, which are identical. They get on their horses and order them to walk. Carrying only a small suitcase each, they make sure to put as little weight on the horses as possible.
Due to the large distances to be covered, Feng Long advises them to only gallop mid-course to not put much strain on the horses. The faster speed can only be maintained for a couple of dozen li before the horses are exhausted. 

After a few hours, they get to Quzhou, their last stop in Zhejiang. There are stud farms and other advanced outposts at regular intervals that house normal and racing horses, so a rider can go at the maximum pace the horse allows and simply change it for a fresh one after the horse being ridden feels exhausted. The exhausted horse is then fed and left to rest for about two days, enough time for it to recover and be ready for another trip.

They change horses and continue their journey. Feng Long smiles:

-It must be said, these saddles are very good... I'm not even feeling tired yet! 

-I carefully choose these... It really sucks to ride on saddles that are not comfortable. - Yu Lexuan smiles back.

-Until now, you are the best saddle ever made! - Feng Long laughs

-You mean, your lap, Feng Long? - Yu Lexuan blushes.

-Well... this is debatable. - Feng Long blushes.

-I agree with Yu Lexuan... - Zhong Kunyi smiles.

They continue their trip. Close to the evening, the weather seems to be changing on the horizon, and large clouds start to gather together quickly. Lightning strikes are flashing, and thunder is heard as a dull, grave sound. They increase the pace of their horses to get to Shangrao as fast as possible.

During the twilight, the thunderstorm clouds reflect the sunlight, bathing the entire landscape in orange to scarlet tones. Yu Lexuan looks at Feng Long:

-Your majesty is so handsome under this light! 

-I think we are all looking great under it.

-The landscape is also looking so nice! - Zhong Kunyi smiles.

The thunderstorm moves quickly, growing in size as the night arrives. The lightning strikes impose a lot of respect, hitting some trees and houses, but they manage to arrive at Shangrao before getting caught by the rain. 

Feng Long chooses an arbitrary hotel:

-Hey, let's stay on this one. There is a restaurant on it, so we will not have to move out and get caught by the rain.

-As you wish.

After letting their horses in a suitable place, they move to the front desk to book the rooms and check-in. Feng Long negotiates:

-Ok, you will need three rooms, right?

-Well, kinda... How about two, or even one? I need a single room with three beds, if you don't have them, maybe two beds will suffice?

Yu Lexuan smirks, passing in front of Feng Long:

-Only one king-size bed is enough for us, I can solve this in one room!

Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi blush. The receptionist smiles:

-I have some rooms with this option. 

-That's what we will choose then. 

Yu Lexuan smiles, gets the room key, and moves away. Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi follow him:

-Yu Lexuan... Three in a single bed is going to be a bit too close, don't you think? - Zhong Kunyi raises an eyebrow.

-The closer, the better. Don't you agree, Feng Long? 

-Well, I... Anyway, let's share this bed tonight. It is going to be cheaper than booking three individual rooms, but money is not something that concerns me... - Feng Long smiles.

-Think about other factors, Feng Long. What if this rain brings in cold air? We can keep ourselves warm and happy! - Yu Lexuan smirks.

Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi blush:

-Yu Lexuan! You are always on fire! - Zhong Kunyi hits him lightly on his shoulder.

-Who knows...

They enter the room. The bed is indeed very large, much larger than the ones Yu Lexuan used to see in Zhejiang. They let their belongings in a designed space close to the bed. Feng Long smiles:

-I think it would be good for us to take a bath. I'm tired from the trip and it was very demanding.

-For sure! 

To Feng Long's disappointment, the bathroom is tiny and has room for no more than two people under the showerhead. Given that Yu Lexuan and Zhong Kunyi are with him, and having no way to pick only one to accompany him, he decided to go alone:

-Well, given the small size of the bathroom, only one of us can take a bath at a time, which is a bit frustrating given that I brought with me special shampoo to apply to your hair.

-Not that big of a deal... I will wait for you. - Yu Lexuan smiles.

-I'll wait for his highness to bathe after your majesty. - Zhong Kunyi bows to them.

Feng long smiles and moves to the bathroom. Yu Lexuan and Zhong Kunyi chat:

-Yu Lexuan!!! You put all of us in a single room, worse, in a single bed!!! How can we share Feng Long?

-Well, 50/50! -Yu Lexuan smiles.

-You know this is impossible, Feng Long may not like it, he has to pick one of us!

-Not really if he lies between us, this is so astoundingly simple, yet your mathematical mindset can't see it? 

-Well, I... Whatever, what do you want?

-I want nothing, really... I thought this would be a good idea. You know, teamwork and the such...

-But... but I don't know how my contribution is going to show up compared to you.

-I don't have any intentions, really... If it happens, then it happened and I don't care. Just get prepared! 

Yu Lexuan quickly kisses Zhong Kunyi, blushing him:

-Feng Long will be done in a moment, I ask you to go first. 

-As your majesty wishes. - Zhong Kunyi smiles.

A few moments later, Feng Long finishes his bath. Zhong Kunyi gets up and enters the bathroom after he left. His hair is a bit curly:

-Feng Long, your hair is... different. - Yu Lexuan raises an eyebrow.

-Ah, yes, it is a bit wavy, I have to brush it so it gets straight again. 

-Please, let me do it for you. - Yu Lexuan smiles.

-Of course, you can do.

Feng Long sits on the bed. Yu Lexuan moves closer, and carefully brushes his hair, touching it. As he brushes, the wavy texture slowly disappears, and the hair gets glossier. A pleasant scent also comes out of it:

-I love this effect, Feng Long. And the scent is so heavenly... - Yu Lexuan smiles.

-I'm trying a different version this time... The result seems to be pretty good... Maybe because your hands are brushing it and making me feel happier.

Feng Long closes his eyes, smiling, as Yu Lexuan brushes his hair:

-Feng Long... Zhong Kunyi seems to be a bit worried about how you will react to having two people with you at once.

-I thought about it... But... You Know. I always try to love you equally, even though... You always have a special place in my heart, and treats me in such a unique way...

Yu Lexuan caresses Feng Long on his head, gently stroking his hair:

-I finished it. You look so gorgeous...

-Because you did it...

Feng Long turns and kisses Yu Lexuan. He deepens the kiss:

-Would you be able to handle two? - Yu Lexuan smirks.

-I don't know. No one could possibly know. This is totally unpredictable...

-Hmmm... I love to see you unsure... I used to put you back on track...

Yu Lexuan smirks again, and Feng Long blushes:

-Maybe I'm not prepared... I have to give it a try. - Feng Long smiles.

Zhong Kunyi finishes his bath and gets dressed. He walks toward Feng Long and Yu Lexuan:

-Your time, your Majesty...

-Ah, yeah! Give me a second, I'll be ready quickly. After that, we can walk down to the restaurant and have something to eat.

-As you wish.

Yu Lexuan goes to the bathroom. Feng Long notices Zhong Kunyi keeps himself a bit far away from him, he gets up and walks to him:

-Zhong Kunyi... May I brush your hair? The water here seems to be a bit hard and it affects our hair.

-Ah, yes, you can do it.

-Please, sit on the bed. 

Zhong Kunyi sits on the bed, Feng Long sits close to him, combing his hair gently:

 

-I felt you were a bit insecure today about sharing the same bed... 

-I... Well... Not really insecure... just a bit... weird.

-Yes, I can understand... Of course, sleeping together does not necessarily mean doing something more, hmmm, you know... We may just sleep together, keeping ourselves warm, maybe chatting a bit before falling asleep.

-I understand what your majesty means...

Feng Long finishes combing Zhong Kunyi's hair:

-It's finished. Let's just wait for Yu Lexuan, I think we can comb his hair together to gain some time. The water here is too hard.

-As your majesty wishes...

Yu Lexuan finishes his bath and returns to the room. Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi get up:

-I noticed the water here is different, Feng Long... My hair is a bit wavy too.

-Let us solve this problem for you as well.

Yu Lexuan smiles. Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi brush Yu Lexuan's hair together, finishing this job next. Yu Lexuan turns, smiling at both:

-Thank you for it, my hair now is bouncy and glossy... As you like.

-You are perfect now. - Feng Long smiles back.

-Your Majesty shines, literally. - Zhong Kunyi bows slightly. 

-Well, so let's eat something. 

Yu Lexuan walks to the door, opening it to Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi. They walk down to the ground floor, entering a cozy restaurant. They sit at a table close to the window, partially open as the rain is falling heavily outside. A waiter arrives next:

-Hi, good night! Do you want to consult our menu?

-Yes, please. - Feng Long smiles.

The waiter walks away and brings back three individual menus:

-Here is it.

Not really sure what he will face during the night, Feng Long orders only very light snacks as a late-night meal. Yu Lexuan and Zhong Kunyi follow suit, neither of them knows certainly what could happen if they all sleep together. 

 ...

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