How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

into the night.

The bedroom of Chenghuan Palace was filled with mist, so much so that a thin layer of water seeped out of the window paper. Behind the screen in the inner room, in an antique wooden barrel, Xie Shoujun was soaking in the water with his eyes closed. In the clear water without any flower petals, one could clearly see the man's strong and well-shaped body. Every inch of his muscles seemed to be the work of gods, smooth and tight.

He seldom had the opportunity to take such a relaxing bath. When he was in the military camp, he usually washed with cold water by the well. Even in the Wude Hall, he only took a quick bath instead of taking such a leisurely bath.

There was a knock on the door. Xie Shoujun opened his eyes and heard the sound of Xie Chengze walking quickly. Soon, the door was opened and closed, and Xie Chengze's footsteps gradually became fainter.

"Brother! The clean clothes have been delivered!"

Xie Chengze walked towards the screen in a brisk tone, intending to hand over the wooden tray containing the robes in his hand, but he suddenly heard Xie Shoujun's voice suddenly standing up, "Wait! Don't come over yet!"

What are you waiting for?

Xie Chengze's pace was very fast. Even though he braked quickly, he still poked his head behind the screen. He saw a bath towel draped over Xie Shoujun's naked wheat-colored upper body. Even though the bath towel was quite large, it still couldn't cover all of Xie Shoujun's skin. It just barely covered part of his chest and lower abdomen.

Why did this person tie the towel around his upper body instead of his lower body?

Xie Chengze naturally moved his eyes downwards, then raised his eyebrows and whistled.

"Brother, you're so brave!" Xie Chengze gave a thumbs up, expressing praise among men.

Someone in the military camp had made such a joke to Xie Shoujun before, but Xie Shoujun never felt shy about it. However, looking at Xie Chengze's beautiful and lively face, Xie Shoujun felt his cheeks burning, and some inexplicable emotions rose in his heart. He walked forward silently and turned Xie Chengze's head, "Go to bed."

Xie Chengze always felt that these three words were strange. Feeling Xie Shoujun reaching out his arm to take away the clothes, he retreated behind the screen, thought for a while and said, "Brother, we are brothers, there is no need to be shy. If you feel that you have suffered a loss, you can also look at mine."

“Cough, cough, cough—” Xie Shoujun was choked by his saliva and started coughing violently. After finally recovering, he said to Xie Chengze, “Don’t mess around!”

Would he treat other brothers like this?

No wonder he got bitten.

Xie Chengze, who was being scolded, couldn't help but touch his nose. He didn't expect Xie Shoujun to be so conservative and didn't look like a soldier at all.

Putting down the wooden tray, Xie Chengze poured out the water he had just used to wash his feet. When he passed by the screen, he saw Xie Shoujun slowly getting dressed. He couldn't help but move closer and quietly stuck his head out.

Although it was just a quick glimpse, he seemed to see Xie Shoujun's thigh...

As soon as she poked her head out, Xie Shoujun held it in his palm. "Do you like peeking so much?"

Xie Chengze chuckled, "Don't be so stingy, it won't make you lose weight if you take a look."

He secretly glanced at Xie Shoujun's thighs, but they were covered by his underwear and he couldn't see anything.

"Naughty." Xie Shoujun shook his head helplessly, lowered his eyes and saw Xie Chengze's white ankles were cold and red, leaned over and carried him on his shoulders, and walked towards the bed, "Rest early, you are tired from going to court. You seem to be sleep deprived recently, and you have blue eyes."

Xie Chengze wanted to struggle down, but when he heard that his eyes were blue, he quickly reached out his hands to touch the bottom of his eyes, and then he sighed, "It seems that I have to resign quickly."

Otherwise, the title of the most beautiful woman in the world would fall on Sheng Yiren.

Or, could he assign Sheng Yiren more tasks? Let her grow dark circles under her eyes along with him?

Seems like a good idea! Hehehe, he is really a devil~

At the same time, at the Sheng family, Sheng Yiren sneezed violently.

Xie Shoujun stuffed Xie Chengze into the quilt, then snapped his fingers, and the lights on the candlesticks on both sides dimmed and went out. He lifted the quilt and lay down in it. Seeing Xie Chengze lying straight like a good baby, he couldn't help but turn sideways.

"If your feet are cold, just reach out."

The man's voice was low and steady, with a gentleness that could be easily detected. "I know that after not seeing each other for ten years, it is inevitable that our relationship has become unfamiliar. There are many things that you are embarrassed to talk about, but you can act more like a spoiled child."

When he was a child, Xiaoze liked to take the initiative to act like a spoiled child to him and ask for the privilege of warming his feet, because he was his elder brother, the only one he could rely on and treat as his younger brother. Jinyu and Zimiao were his younger brothers, and Xiaoze had to take on the responsibility of being an elder brother in front of them, so naturally he would not ask for anything from them, but rather give more.

He thought he was special and was fortunate that he was his only brother.

But on the night when he was drunk, he saw Xie Jinyu getting up at night and used his internal force to warm the legs and feet of Xie Chengze, who had kicked off the quilt.

Not only that, in Liaozhou, Shen Yuan, Wuhen and Wuji all warmed his feet.

What was once irreplaceable has long been replaced.

Xie Shoujun didn't care that he was the one who could be replaced. What he cared about was that every time Xie Chengze asked him for something, he was standing on an equal footing, rather than simply asking for something or acting like a spoiled child to his brother.

He could have just spoken directly instead of looking at his expression, and he was even unwilling to ask for a small request.

Xie Chengze was stunned when he heard what Xie Shoujun said.

Even though he guessed that he might be the original owner, without clear evidence, he never dared to put himself in the shoes of the original owner when he was young to repair the unfamiliar brotherly relationship. That would make him feel like a despicable thief. It would be bad enough to occupy the magpie's nest, but he also wanted to use the foundation left by others to occupy their brothers to work for him. It was too shameless.

He prefers to cultivate emotions through his own habits.

But in his growing experience, acting coquettishly is useless. It will not get the other party's response, nor will it get the result he wants. He has long developed the habit of using money or equivalent benefits to exchange for friends.

So when Xie Shoujun asked him to act coquettishly, he subconsciously resisted and didn't know how to respond.

Seeing Xie Chengze just standing there without saying anything or moving, Xie Shoujun sighed and stretched out his legs.

The sturdy calves exposed by the lifted trouser legs pressed against the cold little feet, and the heat slowly came in, as if a charcoal stove would continue to heat up. Xie Shoujun touched the top of his head and said, "Go to sleep."

Xie Chengze nodded slowly. For some reason, his heart felt tight and his eyes were watery.

Is this what it feels like to have a brother?

It is reassuring that he will tolerate his brother regardless of whether he responds to the other party's expectations or not.

Xie Chengze closed his eyes, his mind was a little confused and dazed. When he came to his senses, he remembered something and opened his eyes gently.

In the darkness of the night, he looked at Xie Shoujun, who closed his eyes and seemed to have fallen asleep, and gently raised his lips, "Brother, are you asleep?"

The man did not respond, not even his eyelashes trembled, and only his steady breathing could be heard.

He must have fallen asleep.

Xie Chengze slowly breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze slid down, passing over his chest and lower abdomen, and finally fell on Xie Shoujun's legs.

Speaking of which, when Xie Shoujun was bathing, he seemed to have seen...