Binding the Dragon for the Empress Chapter 43

As Long As You Like It

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It was a beautiful painting, the other people were only a backdrop, and the only people who caught Xuan Long's eye were the pair.

It was hot in the summer and it was probably because of Ning Zhiyu's poor health that he wore a lot of clothes. With a silver and white cloak over his white robe, his skin was like pale snow and his figure was eloquent. Standing beside Yan Yuan, they were a match made in heaven.

"Does it look good?" Ning Zhiyu raised his hand and touched the silver hairpin that Yan Yuan had put on for him, and asked with a smile.

"It looks good." Yan Yuan looked doting, "Anything looks good on A'Yu."

Ning Zhiyu's eyes were filled with laughter, "You're used to coaxing me."

"Not at all, I am telling the truth." Yan Yuan smiled as he took Ning Zhiyu's hand.

Nowadays, the Emperor of the dynasty is married to a male queen, and the wind of Longyang has been gradually accepted by the people, so it is not unusual for two men to hold hands in public. (Angel: Longyang is the term used in multiple terms that refer to love between men.)

"This gentleman is elegant and has outstanding looks, he will look good in anything. Your husband is not lying to you."

The word 'husband' caused Ning Zhiyu's pale cheeks to flush a little red, and he couldn't help but look at Yan Yuan.

"No mistake, he's my husband." Yan Yuan met Ning Zhiyu's gaze, smiling on the surface, but in reality, he was a little distracted. "I'll take this silver hairpin, how much is it?"

The stall boss quoted a number and the plain-clothed guards behind Yan Yuan stepped forward to pay.

Hidden in the shadows beyond the reach of mortal eyes, Xuan Long watched as the two backs submerged themselves in the crowd and disappeared from his sight.

A short time later, in front of the stall that Yan Yuan and Ning Zhiyu had done business with, a man in black clothes wearing a black gauze hat appeared, standing fixedly in front of the stall. When the boss saw that he had looked at it for a long time and had no intention of buying, he asked in a puzzled voice, "This gentleman, do you have something you want to buy?"

The man was silent for a long time before his hoarse voice came out from under the hat, "Just now...  the silver pin that the gentleman in blue had put on for his beloved, could there be more?"

The boss understood, lowered his head and picked up a hairpin from the stall and handed it to the man with both hands, "The silver hairpin that that gentleman bought for his lover just now is exactly this one, and it just so happens that there is still one left; this style is an ancient firing technique with a cloud pattern, and it is very delicate and beautiful."

The man reached out to pick up the hairpin, but stopped before he could touch it. He didn't know what he was hesitating about, but eventually slowly withdrew his hand. "... Actually, I don't want it."

"Then why don't you look at something else?" The boss said.

The man shook his head and left as quietly and silently as he had come.

The boss was busy greeting other customers, so he didn't care. After about half a cup of tea, the man appeared next to the stall again, perhaps because he saw that the boss was busy, he didn't come forward and only watched quietly from the side.

It was strange that the hairpin was so beautiful, but after all this time, it was still lying there in good condition, not having been bought.

After the boss had sent away a wave of customers, he noticed the man's figure and took the initiative to call out, "Sir?"

Only then did the man step forward and gently twirl the silver hairpin with the cloud pattern, asking in a low voice, "This hairpin, how much is it?"

"Five taels of silver."

The man raised his hand, fished out an ingot of silver from his chest, and placed it on the stall.

"Okay, wait for a moment haha, I'll find the change for you." The boss smiled joyfully.

"No need." The man dropped a remark, took the hairpin, and turned to walk away.

The boss looked up: "Eh, Sir..."

The man's footsteps did not stop, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

The boss rubbed his eyes... and muttered, "What a strange man."

It is clear that he likes it very much, and after looking at it, he did not buy it. If he was short of money, it would make sense, but that man is so bold that he does not even want the change, so where does he look like a master who is short of money?

Strange. Strange.

Inside the inn.

Hu Le came back from outside and was anxious to see that Xuan Long was not there. He was about to go out to look for the dragon when he saw Xuan Long fly in through the window and take his human form inside the room.

He hurried to greet him, "Where have you been?"

"I took a casual walk." Xuan Long took off his hat.

Hu Le was shocked: "Usually you refuse to go out even when coaxed, but today there was no dragon shadow, I thought something was wrong with you, I was worried sick."

Xuan Long was too weak now, and if he was targeted by ill-intentioned cultivators, it would be very dangerous.

"I'm fine." Xuan Long turned around and headed for the bedroom.

Hu Le followed, "Today is the Qixi Festival, everyone outside is paired up, what's the point of you going to hang out alone? I'll go with you after dinner."

"......" Xuan Long did not reply and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Knowing that he was in a bad mood, Hu Le tried to cheer him up: "I went to the King's Palace, which is the most famous restaurant in Chang'an City, and all the dignitaries of the human race love to eat there. The chicken really smells good when it's roasted."

"Want to eat?" He produced a roast chicken and handed it to Xuan Long, who could smell it through the oil paper.

Xuan Long shook his head and said in a light voice, "I'm not hungry."

Hu Le snorted, "I knew you were a picky eater, but I didn't buy just this one thing to eat."

He raised his sleeve and with a wave, the rosewood round table not far away was filled with sumptuous dishes, more than a dozen of them.

Hu Le leaned over and took Xuan Long's hand, "Let's go, accompany Young Master to eat."

Xuan Long smelt the aroma of the food in the room and felt uncomfortable. His already bloodless face became paler and paler, and he pulled his hand away from Hu Le's hand and turned his back on the bed: "You eat. I'm a little sleepy."

Hu Le frowned, "You can't go on like this. How can you be so dull and not even say a few words to me? Even if you are in a bad mood, you must think of the baby in your womb, he will be hungry."

Xuan Long stared at the snow-white walls inside: "... I am naturally like this."

He was originally this dull.

When Hu Le saw that he could not be persuaded, he stopped. Xuan Long heard that there was no movement in the house, so Hu Le must have left.

The dragons in the clan were right, no one would be able to stand his cold and lonely nature. The little fox had been following him all along, so it was good that he was gone now, leaving him alone.

After lying there for a long time, Xuan Long took the silver pin with the cloud pattern out of his pocket.

It was a beautiful piece of jewellery that matched Ning Zhiyu very well. He, on the other hand, was holding this beautiful hairpin, which should not have belonged to him, in his hand, and it looked unconventional and ridiculous.

He didn't know why he had bought the silver hairpin, but when he came to his senses, he was already in front of the stall. After thinking about it, he decided that it was not a good idea to buy this hairpin. What did he buy the hairpin for? He didn't know how to tie his hair and it was useless to buy it.

Besides, it was a gift from Yan Yuan to Ning Zhiyu for the Qixi Festival, so why would he buy an identical one?

No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason that should drive him to buy this silver hairpin, so he left.

But in the end, he went back to the stall and bought it.

There was no reason.

He just wanted it, wanted it badly.

Perhaps that would be enough to pretend that Yan Yuan's feelings for him were true for a moment. Even for a moment, it would be good, so that he wouldn't be so upset.

But why, when he looked at this beautiful silver hairpin, did his heart feel even more uncomfortable?

After all, those feelings cannot be stolen.

Xuan Long closed his eyes and put the hairpin back into the hidden pocket of his robe.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the sound of deliberately light footsteps came from behind him, and Hu Le approached Xuan Long with a catlike movement, “A'Po, are you asleep?"

Xuan Long's body stiffened when he heard this name, and he slowly sat up, his low voice unconsciously cold: "Don't call me that."

"Why?” Hu Le instantly exploded. "That human can call you that, can't I call you that?"

"......" Xuan Long did not speak.

He just... hearing this name reminded him of the man.

Hu Le was quiet for a long time, but finally backed off; this dragon had just suffered an emotional injury, and he was kind-hearted enough not to argue with him. In a small voice, he asked, "... Then what should I call you?"

Xuan Long pursed his lips, “Anything"

Hu Le tilted his head and thought: "Your name is Han Po, so I will call you A'Han, how about that?"

"Or Han Han?"

"Or Po Po?"

"Which one do you prefer?"

"All of them are fine." Xuan Long said.

He replied in such a perfunctory manner that Hu Le was discouraged and did not want to dwell on the subject with him any longer. He spread his hand and a plate of freshly sliced raw fish appeared in the palm of his hand. 

He produced a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Xuan Long, “Hey.”

Xuan Long did not take them and looked at Hu Le in silence.

When Hu Le smiles wickedly, he looks like a fox, but at this moment, his ice blue eyes look pure, like a 200-year-old fox who is a little nervous about talking to his beloved.

He whispered, "I went to ask the healer, and he said it was normal for a pregnant demon to be picky about food, he also said that you dragons love fresh fish. I thought about it, you have lived in the thousand-year-old pool for a long time, the fish there must be most to your liking, so I went and caught a few. After removing the guts and bones, only the flesh of the fish was left and then cut into fillets, which are best to eat at this time."

"... Eat up!”

Only then did Xuan Long notice that Hu Le was all wet. He looked at the fresh fish fillets that glowed a light pink on his plate, each one cut to about the same size, and it was clear that care had been taken.

"... Why do you treat me so well?"

Yan Yuan treated him well for his dragon scales, so what about Hu Le... why?

Hu Le was so stared at by Xuan Long. Not sure what came to mind, his cheeks suddenly reddened, and he suddenly shoved the plate into Xuan Long's hand, turned, and ran away: "Aiya! I told you to eat it, why are you talking so much? I'm embarrassed..."

Xuan Long was confused when he saw his figure disappear inside the house.

Since he had been with Yan Yuan, he had not eaten fresh fish for a long time, and now he really felt a bit greedy. Using chopsticks to pick up a piece into his mouth, he chewed it, and then remembered what Yan Yuan had said:

“Ei ei ei, how can you eat such raw meat? Only savages and beasts eat such uncooked things--"

At that time, not long after Yan Yuan was rescued by Xuan Long and returned to the thousand-year-old pond, the two of them sat face to face, Yan Yuan ate food bought by Xuan Long from the market, while Xuan Long ate raw fish caught in the pond. After eating, Yan Yuan was dumbfounded to see him eating with blood all over his mouth, and told him that he should not do so.

For the first time, Xuan Long knew that it was wrong to eat like that.

It was wrong for the human race.

Afraid of scaring Yan Yuan, he earnestly learned from him how to use chopsticks and tried to adapt to human food. He became more and more like a human and understood how to love... but the man's heart never belonged to him.

The persistence from before was no longer necessary.

When Xuan Long thought about all that, he didn't have much of an appetite, but he still ate half a plate. Hu Le was right, he should think about the foetus in his womb.

In the future, no matter what... he will have a child with him.

Half an hour later, Hu Le returned, and Xuan Long was sitting cross-legged on the bed, adjusting his breathing.

"Here."

Xuan Long opened his turquoise eyes, only to see Hu Le holding a red sachet of incense in his hand and handing it to him.

"What is this?"

"A gift for the Qixi Festival.” Hu Le's ears burned red and his voice seemed a little tight in the dimly lit room, "I saw that everyone else had one, you should have one too."

"……”

When Hu Le saw that Xuan Long didn't take it, he took the initiative to stuff it into his hand, "It's filled with spirit grass, it smells good, and it can calm the mind and nourish the baby."

Without putting the scented sachet to his nose, Xuan Long could smell the pleasant scent, which seemed to really have a calming effect on his mind. His heart warmed as he whispered, "Thank you."

"You... as long as you like it."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: June 4, 2022