Chapter 15
Bo Tao was in trouble. Everybody knew he had spent the afternoon with Ji Yue. And everybody was speculating on whether he beat her or had sex with her. He’d tried to hide away from their speculation. He wasn’t at all sure he could fake the angry contempt that would lead a man to beat a woman. Better to hide in his office and work on the things he should have been doing that afternoon.
He succeeded for a time. But when his best friend and Emperor sauntered into the room around midnight, Bo Tao knew he was in trouble. If anyone could catch him in a lie, it would be Yi Zhen.
“I am not pleased with you,” said the Emperor.
This was bad. Yi Zhen was clearly in a mood to toy with him. Bo Tao’s best bet was to play for time. So he took a very long moment to finish his last calculation, make his notation, then set aside his abacus with a sigh. The final touch? He rubbed his eyes. Only then did he look at his Emperor. “What? And by the way, your eunuchs are robbing you blind.”
“Hmm.”
Bo Tao cringed internally. The eunuchs were usually the best way to distract Yi Zhen. He and Bo Tao had spent many long hours debating tradition against cruelty. At the moment, the centuries-old castration practice remained, but Yi Zhen wasthinking about making some very bold changes. Unfortunately, that was not on his mind today.
“I am very displeased with you,” the Emperor repeated.
Bo Tao kept his face as blank as possible. “Why?”
Yi Zhen stepped fully into the room, but he didn’t sit. “Did you sleep with her?”
Bo Tao’s eyes never wavered. “No.” He’d never confess how close he’d come to taking her though. Or how many times.
“You didn’t beat her. You don’t even beat eunuchs.”
Bo Tao considered lying, but he knew he’d never get away with it. Instead, he let his gaze slide to the slivers of broken ivory in the corner. He’d smashed the ugly statue within seconds of her departure this afternoon.
“I humiliated her,” he said with absolute truth.
“You can kill a Dutch envoy without blinking, but one virgin makes you smash a carving of an Immortal.”
Bo Tao frowned. “I thought it was a badly done penis.”
“Hm.” The silence stretched on until Bo Tao was nearly screaming. Then Yi Zhen abruptly folded his arms across his chest and thrust out his chin. “I could have you killed for playing with one of my virgins.”
“You could have me killed for pissing in a pot. You’re the Son of Heaven.”
“She’smyvirgin.”
“I know that!”
“You’re supposed to be figuring out which one would be best as an Empress.”
“She qualifies.”
Yi Zhen was quiet again as he stared across the desk as his friend. The man still hadn’t sat down, but towered above like the near-God he was supposed to be. “She spurned you, didn’t she?”
Bo Tao felt his jaw clench, the truth hovering on his tongue. No, he could say. No, she wants me as much as Iwant her. Then maybe his best friend would relent. Maybe Yi Zhen would give up one of his precious virgins to his childhood companion. Or maybe he would kill them both. With Yi Zhen, he never knew.
“I wanted to force her.”
“You’ve never raped before.”
Bo Tao shrugged. He was doing a lot of things he’d never done before.
“I could give her to you,” Yi Zhen said.
Bo Tao’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowed almost to slits. What game was his friend playing?
“Would you like that?” Yi Zhen pressed.
