Du Fen wiggled his nose and blinked his eyes open blearily. A strand of bright red hair dangled in front of his eyes tantalizingly. He glared at it for waking him up, and rather than brush it out of the way, he buried his face into the warm chest in front of him.

Jian Jun awoke at the first stirring of the cute youth beneath him and smiled endearingly as the man in his arms cuddled closer. If his precious bride-to-be did not want to wake up yet, he was not about to make him. They were almost to the Imperial Capitol city and his Palace anyways.

He would miss being able to hold the young man in his arms each night. He knew that the court and his mother would put a stop to that as soon as he walked into those gates. He sighed to himself.

For all that he was the Emperor, there were some rules that he must abide by. For the sake of his precious boy, he would do so only until they were safely wed. There would be no room for scandal where he was concerned.

It was also why, despite wanting to desperately, he had refrained from deflowering his precious love. His gaze darkened as he thought about how long it would be before he could officially take the youth in his arms as his. At least, as long as he wanted things to turn out his way.

*

"They are almost back now. A messenger said they will reach the Capitol by midday." The Emperor's brother announced as he walked in the door briskly. The General looked up at him and smiled genuinely for the first time in a few days.

"Good. We should send more guards to meet them to make sure they make it thorough the streets alright." He was thinking of all the back alleys and two-faced nobles that lived in the city with a grim determination.

"Yes, I have already had them assemble. Did you want a break and go with them? I can work on the paperwork." He offered nobly. The General raised a brow. This lazy brother was offering to do work for him.

"What's the catch?" He asked suspiciously. The Emperor's brother looked away from those sharp eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

"Just a little favour later. Nothing important I promise." He assured him. The General snorted. There was no such thing as a 'little favour' when it came to this man.

"Fine, but I reserve the right to refuse three times if I don't like the favour." He negotiated. The brother nodded after thinking about it.

"Okay. Go on to the Jade courtyard. They will be departing from there." He slipped past the General to take a seat at the desk and the General noticed that he smelled a touch of incense musk upon him. He frowned and was about to leave, but turned back at the last second.

"Did you already honour your mother today?" He asked in a quiet voice. The Emperor's brother looked up in surprise and nodded faintly. The General smiled at him. "Good. Such a filial son. He would be very proud of you if he could see you now."

The Emperor's brother looked shocked at the empty door that the man had just slipped out of. He gulped down a tight feeling in his chest and blinked away the faint threatening of tears that those words had elicited.

He took a deep breath and turned his attention to the paperwork, a perfect distraction for the anniversary of his mother's death.

*

The Captain smiled unconsciously as he saw the large group of soldiers approach with the Emperor's colours waving above them. He waved to the tall man who led the group in a splendid set of armour.

"General! How is everything at the Capitol?" He exclaimed when they were finally close enough and slowed to a stop. The General scowled at him.

"You are late. You were supposed to be here by midday." He grumbled as he scanned the group for the wayward Emperor. His eyes widened when he saw the man grinning and speaking to a youth next to him on horseback, ignoring everyone else and pointing to the landmarks.

"Yes, well... His Majesty was slow to get up this morning, and then wanted to show his bride-to-be all the interesting things about the Capitol's exterior." He explained with a raised brow. He glanced at the way the Emperor was looking down at the youth and rolled his eyes.

"Ah, I... I see. I guess it couldn't be helped." The General acknowledged to himself that this boy would be someone very important to keep an eye on.

"Come, Du Fen. I will introduce you to General Yu. He is head of my armies, and has been helping my brother look after things in my absence." He drew the two horses forward for the introduction.

"Thank you for your assistance, General Yu. I am pleased to meet you." Du Fen said in a polite voice. The General now had a closer look at the boy, and realised he was quite a rare beauty. It was no wonder the Emperor liked him so much.

"The pleasure and honour is all mine, Lord Du Fen. I will do my utmost to keep you safe for the last stretch before the Imperial Palace, and watch over you when you arrive." He bowed to the lad with a polite smile and glance at the Emperor.

"Thank you, General. We expect that you will." His pleased expression was tinged with the slightest threatening edge, and the General gulped. He led the way as they made their way across a massive wooden bridge which led to the outer city.

Many farms and villas were built up outside the walls of the Capitol city proper, leading it to be called 'the outer city.' Once they passed the sprawling fields and outer city family courtyards, there was a huge wall with massive gates set into them.

"There are actually three gates at each side. The outer one on this side goes over the water to allow carts and traffic into the city. It folds down. Then there are the second set of gates which fold out to the outside and are shut each night for safety." The Emperor explained as they got closer.

"And the third set?" Du Fen asked curiously. The Emperor grinned.

"The third set is a raised gate with spikes on the bottom of it that can be dropped if we are invaded suddenly. It is made of metal and takes two days to lift back into position if the ropes are cut." He told the youth. Du Fen's eyes widened in appreciation.

"Wow. That sounds impressive. Have you ever had to lower it?" He asked with interest. He could not recall such specifics from his history lessons. They were just who did what and when, or who was who.

"Yes, we have. When his father was Emperor we dropped it to prevent the west army having access to the city during the west rebellion." The Captain piped up.

"That was peacefully settled though. It was a misunderstanding only and my father soothed things over." Jian Jun told him quickly. Du Fen nodded. He had heard of a minor rebellion in passing, but didn't recall the details.

"Once we pass into the inner city, we will have to be careful travelling with his majesty to the palace. You will need to go in behind him, as we must have guards two deep on either side of both of you." The Captain reminded the Emperor.

"Yes, yes. And I must use 'We.' And Du Fen will have to be called 'Lord Du Fen.' And we cannot touch each other as we please in public before the wedding." The Emperor grumbled in a bad mood.

"Is it so strict in the Imperial Palace?" Du Fen asked worriedly. Jian Jun looked at him sadly. He wanted to turn around and extend their wander for another week or two at least, just so he could keep the lad in his arms.

"It will be at first. Once we are married it will not be as strict because you will rise in rank above everyone. Until you do, there are many who believe you are beneath them." He frowned after the words left his mouth. He would enlighten anyone who even thought of picking on his bride-to-be.

"Oh. Am I beneath a lot of people in the palace? I suppose I must be as only a Lord General's son." Du Fen murmured to himself.

"You aren't beneath as many as you think. You are His Majesty the Emperor's bride-to-be after all. That gives you a little boost. I think you must be a step behind only about fifty or sixty people in total." The Captain reassured him. Du Fen grimaced. Even fifty might get tricky remembering.

"You will have to consider my mother, my siblings, and the members of the high court seats only. If someone is introduced or announced as 'majesty' or 'highness' then they are direct family." Jian Jun patiently explained to him.

"Yes, my mother taught me that part. How do I know if they hold high court seats though?" Du Fen asked nervously.

"He will be called 'lord minister' instead of just 'minister,' or with a specific job." The Captain told him with a grin. Du Fen nodded.

"Like the Minister of the Left, or Minister of Justice." Another guard piped up.

"Okay. I can do this. Majesty, Highness, Minister of Such or Lord Minister... and I bow to them?" He looked up with a questioning glance. The Emperor nodded.

"Yes. Just that though. Do not let anyone tell you to kneel for them. Also, if someone orders you to do something, and you do not think it is right, you may request my authorization." The Emperor said firmly.

"Okay. I will remember."

1677