PART 2 The Ash That Burns Without Flame
A drop of invisible poison ignites a night of chaos. Desire, jealousy, and betrayal spiral beneath the surface, as every heart faces its breaking point.
The sight before him made his breath catch—
Ai Miao lay sprawled across the bed, her clothes disheveled, her body trembling slightly with unbearable desire. Those usually cool, composed dark eyes now glistened with moisture. She bit down hard on her already swollen lower lip, futilely trying to extinguish the raging fire consuming her with her hands...
"Your Highness..." Ai Miao sensed an intruder and lifted his dazed eyes. Recognizing Gu Lian, the last remnants of his reason left him seething with humiliation. He struggled to push himself up, his voice shattered by desire: "I... will fetch a maid..."
Those words pierced Gu Lian's heart like a dagger.
"You shall not!" Gu Lian roared, his eyes blazing with madness. He strode forward, forcing Ai Miao back onto the bed. His trembling fingers pulled open the sweat-soaked inner robe, his hand resting on the scorching chest: You want a woman that badly? Huh?"
He tore open his own robe, gazing down at the man beneath him, his voice hoarse with agony. "I'll be your bedmate... Don't touch anyone else... Men or women... None of them..."
Ai Miao froze. He stared into Gu Lian's eyes, where five years of loneliness, the pain of "betrayal," and a near-mad obsession burned as one flame. When he felt Gu Lian's body tremble slightly, his heart clenched as if in a vice, the pain suffocating him.
Driven by desire, Gu Lian hastily undid their clothes. When his palm touched the area between Ai Miao's legs, a startling discovery made him pause—the desire was so intense, yet carried a long-lost, untouched sensitivity. Even the slightest touch sent Ai Miao into violent tremors and suppressed moans.
This realization sent shockwaves through Gu Lian's mind. He knew this feeling all too well—Ai Miao had been this tender and sensitive during their first night together five years ago. If he truly had been with someone else these past five years, he couldn't possibly still react like this!
Gu Lian's hand slowly slid downward, tracing the firm contours of Ai Miao's abdomen, feeling the taut muscles beneath the skin. His fingertips traced gentle circles over the burning desire, watching as Ai Miao tilted his head back in agony, his Adam's apple rolling as he emitted broken gasps.
"It seems..." Gu Lian's voice trembled with disbelief, "my strategist has lived a remarkably celibate life these past five years."
Ai Miao tried to protest, but every word was silenced by Gu Lian. This kiss was unlike any before—brutal, urgent, driven by a near-fearful need to confirm his existence, to dispel all lingering shadows of doubt. Amidst the scorching, deep kisses, the movements in his palm never ceased. Instead, they grew more in tune with this ecstatic joy of rediscovery, clearly sensing every tremor and palpitation of the vibrant life force beneath his touch. Each subtle quiver spoke the truth.
When Ai Miao released himself in his grasp, the utter abandon, the fingers clutching his arm—all made Gu Lian acutely aware: the pent-up desire this body had never offered another now surged entirely for him.
Now it was Ai Miao's turn. The potion still burned within him, but now he craved confirmation of another truth. He gently pushed Gu Lian away, pressing him onto the bed.
"It is time for this servant... to attend to Your Highness." Ai Miao's voice was hoarse with desire, his eyes flickering with complex emotions.
His fingertips sought out the space between Gu Lian's legs. When they touched the equally burning desire there, Ai Miao's movements halted noticeably. Too familiar... This size, this warmth, this rhythm pulsing beneath his palm—exactly as it had been five years ago. But what startled him more was Gu Lian's reaction—
Merely a light grasp elicited a stifled moan from Gu Lian, his body arching involuntarily. That tight rear passage contracted instinctively, as if craving something.
Ai Miao's fingertips slowly slid downward, probing the hidden entrance. It was too tight... so tight that even pushing his finger in felt difficult. This was absolutely not the reaction one would expect from a body that had experienced intimacy!
"Your Highness..." Ai Miao's voice trembled with disbelief, "These past five years..."
Gu Lian turned his face away, his ears flushing crimson. "Now you know."
This confirmation swept away the last shred of doubt in Ai Miao's heart. Without further hesitation, he used the moisture Gu Lian had left on his fingertips moments before to slowly enter that tight, warm place.
Though the entrance remained tender and tight, the moment Ai Miao was fully embraced within, a profound sense of soul-deep connection welled up—so smooth... so smooth it broke his heart. The inner walls clung tightly to him, every fold whispering of five years of waiting. When Ai Miao was fully inside, both men involuntarily held their breath, as if this long-awaited completeness and union had stolen their very souls. Then, it dissolved into a satisfied sigh, intertwined with pain and ecstasy.
"Can you feel it?" Gu Lian panted beneath him, "This place... only remembers you."
Ai Miao's answer was a deeper thrust. He moved slowly within Gu Lian, savoring the maddening heat and tightness. Each entry triggered a violent contraction, as if this body were expressing its longing in its own way.
"I feel the same..." Ai Miao murmured against his ear, leaning close. "This place... beats only for Your Highness."
He guided Gu Lian's hand to rest upon his still-stiff desire, letting the Crown Prince feel that loyalty firsthand.
"Can you feel it, Your Highness?" Ai Miao's voice was hoarse, each word saturated with five years of pent-up agony. "This loyalty... this loyalty that burns me day and night... it has never belonged to anyone but you."
Gu Lian offered no reply, responding instead with action—he jerked his head back and claimed Ai Miao's lips. The kiss tasted of salty tears, both punishment and redemption. Between tangled tongues, he gasped, "Then give it... all back to me... not a single drop left behind." "As their lips and tongues entwined, Gu Lian's long legs wrapped around Ai Miao's waist with unquestionable force, executing this command to its fullest extent.
This kiss became the final spark. Ai Miao could no longer hold back. He thrust his hips forward, driving himself deeper and harder into that tight, scorching depths, as if to brand five years of separation, longing, and boundless loyalty into Gu Lian's flesh and soul through this most primal act. Again and again, he struck the spot that sent the man beneath him reeling, listening to the broken moans and whimpers escaping from their locked lips.
In this almost punitive possession and surrender, when the final wave of pleasure crashed over them, Aimiao let out a low growl bordering on a sob, releasing himself fiercely within that familiar, tight embrace—a place untouched by any other.
Almost simultaneously, Gu Lian reached his peak within his embrace, his body convulsing violently as waves of tightening clenched around him, as if sucking out his very soul. In this moment, all the testing, all the unease, found their answer. Every tremor of this body, every raw, fervent response, silently proclaimed a truth: his Crown Prince, his Highness, had guarded both body and soul for him alone these past five years.
In the lingering aftermath, Aimiao did not withdraw immediately. Exhausted, he sank down, surrendering his entire weight to Gu Lian. Their sweat-drenched chests pressed tightly together, each could clearly feel the other's uncontrolled heartbeat gradually synchronizing. Gu Lian raised his hand to trace the damp curve of his back, his fingertips lightly gliding over taut muscles, carrying the lazy contentment of after.
"Ai Qing..." Gu Lian's voice was still husky from their union, "Your loyalty... I have received it."
Ai Miao buried his face in the crook of his neck, breathing deeply the scent that belonged to him. In this brief moment of tenderness, the five years of separation seemed never to have existed.
Yet, though he had released his fiery devotion within Gu Lian, his desire remained undiminished, its presence still palpable.
"Ai Qing..."
Gu Lian's voice was still husky from their union, yet the hand caressing his back held an undeniable possessiveness.
"Here..." His fingertips traced the slightly trembling entrance, "...and here..." He stroked Ai Miao's desire, which had quietly risen again, "...must remember only me."
This domineering declaration was like sparks, landing on the embers within Ai Miao that had not yet fully died out. The potion's effects were merely an excuse; deeper still was his own desire to confirm and possess.
"Then..." Ai Miao propped himself up, his ink-black eyes unfathomably deep, "...please inspect me personally, Your Highness."
Before the words faded, Gu Lian seized him, pulling him into an embrace and sealing his lips with a kiss. This kiss held no hesitation, only a consuming resolve, as if intent on devouring that tempting invitation—and Ai Miao himself—whole.
When the kiss ended, both were breathless. Gu Lian pressed his forehead against Ai Miao's, his voice hoarse: "As you wish."
Then, he gently turned Ai Miao over.
Ai Miao submitted, lying face-down on the bed, feeling Gu Lian draw near from behind, his warm chest pressed against his spine.
"Afraid?" Gu Lian murmured in his ear, his fingertips carrying an irresistible tenderness as they slowly entered that hidden entrance. Even a single finger encountered an unprecedented tightness and resistance, the inner walls awkwardly clinging to his knuckle with the untouched resistance of inexperience.
Ai Miao shook his head gently, his usually calm, ink-black eyes glistening with moisture. Yet it wasn't entirely arousal; it was mixed with the subtle tremors of a body suddenly invaded. He drew a deep breath, forcing his tense waist to relax as he buried himself deeper into the brocade bedding—a silent gesture of surrender, laying bare all vulnerability and trust.
"Your Highness..." His voice muffled against the pillow, tinged with a strained hoarseness, "...it's fine."
This awkward reaction, this utterly defenseless surrender, spoke louder than any words. The last trace of shadow in Gu Lian's heart dissipated. He leaned down, kissing Ai Miao's slightly trembling nape, slowing his movements to give him ample time to adjust.
The moment Gu Lian fully entered, both of them held their breath simultaneously.
Ai Miao felt that familiar firmness and heat with crystal clarity—that surging desire had not diminished in the slightest, but burned even more intensely than he remembered.
Each thrust carried five years of pent-up longing, yet maintained a heartbreaking restraint.
"Your Highness..." Ai Miao murmured, fingers digging into the brocade quilt beneath him. The tight inner walls instinctively contracted, drawing Gu Lian deeper inside.
This reaction halted Gu Lian's movements—a profound tightness unlike the shallow grip of his earlier fingertips. The walls trembled with an unmistakable pain born of being claimed so completely for the first time, clinging to him with fierce intensity. A crystalline realization exploded like thunder in Gu Lian's mind—just as he had guarded his virtue for Ai Miao, his strategist had sealed this body and soul for him alone for five long years.
The ecstasy and heartache of this belated realization instantly overwhelmed him. All tentative movements ceased; he simply remained buried deep within her, savoring this heartbreaking proof, held solely for him.
"Ai Qing..." When he spoke again, his voice carried a purified shock and boundless reverence, "So you... too, were only for me..."
The moment the words fell, the chamber was left only with their intertwined breaths. In that infinitely stretched, unspoken silence, Gu Lian seemed to finally find his own breath again.
He leaned down, gently kissing Ai Miao's sweat-dampened nape, while his other hand circled around his waist from the front, fingertips tenderly teasing the desire that remained erect.
Ai Miao trembled under the dual stimulation, unable to resist turning his head to see the expression behind him. In that instant, Gu Lian thrust deeply into his most sensitive spot, eliciting a stifled whimper from Ai Miao.
"Look at me," Gu Lian's voice was hoarse with desire, "Let you see clearly who it is that loves you."
Ai Miao's eyes widened in a haze. In the flickering candlelight, he saw the all-too-familiar depth of affection in Gu Lian's gaze—free of suspicion, free of resentment, filled only with the treasured relief of something lost and found.
In that moment, he knew beyond doubt: his Highness had never changed.
"Can you feel it?" Gu Lian murmured against his ear, his movements deepening. "We're the same... these past five years, we've been waiting for each other."
Ai Miao couldn't speak, only nodding fiercely, his fingers digging into Gu Lian's arms wrapped around his waist.
In this intimate union, their bodies completed the final confirmation—each had been the other's sole desire for these five years.
When the waves of passion finally subsided, Gu Lian remained inside Ai Miao, his fingers gently tracing the sweat-drenched curve of his back. This tender embrace spoke truer than any words could ever utter.
Gu Lian gently turned Ai Miao toward him and wiped the tear from the corner of his eye.
Before they fell asleep in each other's arms, he whispered a vow into Ai Miao's ear: "From this moment on, your body and soul belong only to me."
Ai Miao didn't reply. He simply buried his face against Gu Lian's chest—an answer more resolute than words.
—
Gu Lian woke first. Morning light spilled across Ai Miao's peaceful sleeping face. He shifted his arm slightly, and the movement stirred the man in his embrace.
Their eyes met. The memories of the night before surged back like a tide.
Ai Miao immediately tried to rise. "Your servant has overstepped…"
"Don't move." Gu Lian tightened his hold, locking him in place. "We need to talk."
Silence filled the air—but it was no longer cold.
At last, Gu Lian spoke softly. "Last night… you felt it too."
It wasn't a question. It was a truth.
Ai Miao lowered his gaze, voice barely audible. "So did I."
Three simple words—like a key unlocking the heart they had both kept sealed for five years.
Gu Lian lifted his face, looking into those calm, dark eyes. "If our bodies and souls belong only to each other," he said, voice cautious and tender, "If even our flesh speaks the same longing… then let me be your home."
Ai Miao's heart trembled violently. He saw the vulnerability and yearning in Gu Lian's eyes—and in that moment, he understood completely.
All the triumphs that stirred the world, all the flawless strategies and political victories—none of it compared to holding this man.
When he seized a kingdom, his heart had been calm. But now, simply feeling Gu Lian's presence inside him, the tremor of connection—his soul shuddered.
Gu Lian had never been part of his plans. He was the only accident in Ai Miao's rational path. And the only destination.
Perhaps, even as a child, Ai Miao had been drawn to this light—seeking the warmth that could melt his frozen world, the one person he would willingly surrender everything to.
He reached out, fingertips brushing Gu Lian's cheek with unprecedented tenderness. Then he tilted his head and kissed him—gently, firmly.
That kiss spoke of forgiveness, belonging, and a vow: I want only you.
—
When they emerged from the room, dressed and composed, there was no visible trace of what had passed—except for the lingering emotion in their eyes, and the faint red mark on Ai Miao's neck.
Just then, news arrived: Princess Yunzhu had eloped with the low-ranking officer.
Gu Lian and Ai Miao exchanged a glance—instantly grasping each other's intent.
"Send word," Gu Lian said, his voice once again bearing the authority of a crown prince, though tinged with subtle relief. "The Beicang princess has disgraced herself and broken the alliance. Beicang must dispatch envoys to plead for forgiveness."
Ai Miao stepped forward, voice crisp and composed. "Border troops shall raise their alert level immediately, adopting a posture of deterrence. Simultaneously, we may release word that Da Sheng does not rule out seeking a new ally."
In that moment, they were not only lovers bound by heart—but sovereign and strategist, perfectly aligned.
—
That night, the study at the post station glowed with candlelight.
Gu Lian reviewed the protocols for handling the aftermath. Sensing Ai Miao's gaze, he looked up and met those deep, ink-dark eyes across the flame.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
Ai Miao's lips curved into a quiet, genuine smile. "At Your Highness," he said softly, then added with gentle conviction, "At my liege."
The candlelight flickered, casting their shadows onto the wall—merging into one. Just like their newly affirmed bodies and hearts, no longer separable.