Two cars stopped outside Bo Manor. 

The door of the black heavy-duty off-road vehicle at the back opened, and Qin Yishun got out, marching with long legs through the wind.

The car’s front window rolled down, and Bo Yueming, who was sitting at Pei Yi’s side, spoke first, “Mr. Qin, you know the way to Bo Manor.”

“En.”

Qin Yishun responded casually. 

His eyes locked onto Pei Yi’s face, and he asked with a last trace of stubbornness, “Xiao Yi, you really don’t want to leave with Big Brother? In case Grandpa and the others are angry, I……”

Pei Yi shook his head repeatedly amidst his repeated invitations.

“…….”

Qin Yishun could tell that Pei Yi was willing to stay at Bo Manor, so he had no choice but to drop the topic in defeat. “All right.”

During the years he was not in the Imperial Capital, he had completely failed to fulfill his brotherly responsibilities. That being the case, where did he have the right to force the other party to do something he was unwilling to do?

Qin Yishun changed the subject. “Do you have a cell phone? I’ll leave you my contact information.”

Pei Yi slowly took his cell phone from his pocket and handed it over obediently.

In order to avoid arousing the suspicion of Uncle Kai and others, his mobile phone did not have a screen saver, and he hadn’t even downloaded an extra app.

Even so, Qin Yishun paid great attention to his personal privacy, and handed it back after confirming the contact information of both parties. 

“Xiao Yi, this time Brother will stay in the Imperial Capital and not leave. No matter what problems you encounter in the future, you can call me directly, understand?”

Pei Yi pretended to think for a few seconds, then nodded.

Bo Yueming at the side heard Qin Yishun’s account and invited him delicately, “Since Mr. Qin and Pei Yi haven’t seen one another for a long time, why don’t you come in and sit down?”

“No need, I have something to attend to later.”

Qin Yishun really wanted to talk with Pei Yi more, but the timing was not right presently—

If what Sun Yelong did to Pei Yi was really related to the Pei family and Pei Huan, then he must find a way to settle this account!

The most important thing was that Sun Yelong must not be allowed to continue to trouble Pei Yi afterwards.

Qin Yishun thought of the Bo family’s main branch that may be involved with it and said bluntly, “Second Young Master Bo, how about we handle the affairs of the two families separately?”

Bo Yueming was a sharp person. “That works.”

Hearing this answer, QIn Yishun regarded Bo Yueming again—

To make Pei Yi willing to stay in Bo Manor, this person probably had some skills.

But even so, Qin Yishun was still displeased that someone had plucked his cabbage away.

Qin Yishun frowned slightly, not forgetting to take a stance as Pei Yi’s own family, “Second Young Master Bo, let me get the ugly words out of the way. I have always had some concerns.”

“If Pei Yi is wronged at Bo Manor one day, or if an incident like today happens again……even if he doesn’t want to leave at that time, I will take him away by force.”

The tint of Bo Yueming’s eyes hidden under the glasses changed, and he didn’t speak.

Qin Yishun concluded his ‘warning,’ and his tone quickly changed as he looked at Pei Yi. “Xiao Yi, in two days, Big Brother will take you to eat delicious food.”

Pei Yi covertly glanced at Bo Yueming beside him, and smiled. “En.”

Although they had just met for the first time, he had a good impression of this nominal cousin.

Qin Yishun received a smile from his little brother, and his disappointment and gloom dissipated. After bidding farewell to Pei Yi, he got back into the off-road vehicle, turned around with a crisp, beautiful reverse, and drove off. Pei Yi poked his head halfway out and gazed after the vehicle that was becoming a quick-moving dot, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Ah—”

He just had to say it. 

That modified hard-core off-road vehicle looked really cool!

“…….”

When Bo Yueming heard the kitten’s exclamation to the side, his jaw tightened even more. “Lao Fu, close the window and drive in.”

“Yes.”

After a while, the car drove to the manor and stopped at the door of the independent villa.

Pei Yi was concerned about Inspector, who was locked in the room, and trotted back to the house as soon as he got out of the car.

“Pei……”

Bo Yueming touched the vacant space beside him, and his dark blue eyes seemed to become more intense.

Waiting outside the car, Uncle Kai perceived this emotional change and persuaded him gently, “Second Young Master, Mr. Qin said those words out of concern for Little Sir. I watched his style of conduct, and it doesn’t seem like he is playing tricks.”

Bo Yueming got out of the car and stood firm on his own, saying in a low voice, “I know.”

Although his eyes were inconvenient, his ability to judge a person’s character had not vanished.

“Second Young Master, I have been watching the entire process today.” Uncle Kai looked at Bo Yueming meaningfully, and smiled as he pacified, “Although Little Sir and Mr. Qin are related by blood, he is obviously closer to you now.”

“Look at the speed with which Little Sir entered the door. It seems he completely regards this place as his own home, and is not timid or restrained at all.”

The corners of Bo Yueming’s pursed lips relaxed, and he scoffed, “Restrained? He slipped away faster than a wild kitten.”

Uncle Kai smiled and said nothing.

Master and servant entered the house with steady steps.

Following Bo Yueming, Uncle Kai watched him enter the house smoothly under his own ability, and felt more joy in his heart as an elder.

He glanced at the time and suggested, “Second Young Master, the time is just right, shall I ask the kitchen to prepare some supper? If you and Little Sir are hungry, how about padding your stomachs?”

“En.”

Bo Yueming nodded.

Having encountered such an incident at the celebration banquet, Pei Yi was probably too frightened to eat well, so some should be prepared.

Uncle Kai’s footsteps gradually faded away. Bo Yueming sat on the sofa, took out his mobile phone, and dialed his friend’s number.

In less than half a minute, Yan Cen’s voice sounded from the other end. “Hello, Yueming?”

“It’s me. Are you busy with work?”

“We just evaluated and screened the new investment projects for the second half of the year. At present, only four good ones have been selected, and there is still one vacancy to be filled.”

The investment company jointly founded by the two planned to shift its focus back to China for development after a unanimous decision by top management, and planned to develop five key projects in the second half of the year to test the waters.

This round of investments was related to the future foundation of G.M. in China, and there must not be any sloppiness in the selection of any project. 

“Currently, the investment amounts for all four projects are within our budget. I’ll send the relevant documents to Lin Zhong later, and let him arrange for you to have a look?”

“All right.”

After finishing their business, Yan Cen said, “Did you call me for something?”

Bo Yueming did not stand on ceremony with his friends. “En, there is something I will trouble you to check into.”

He thought of everything that had just happened, and his cold eyes were sharp. “Sun Yelong, Chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce, find someone to covertly investigate him. Regarding him, I need as much information as possible, and the sooner the better.”

Yan Cen paused for a few seconds, then said nothing of it. “Okay, I’ll get back to you when I have news.”

Bo Yueming replied, “Thanks, I’ll treat you to dinner when I’m free.”

. . . . . .

Inspector had stayed alone in the room all afternoon, and when Pei Yi came home, he played with his pet for a while before letting it go downstairs to play freely.

In any case, Uncle Kai and others were at home, and Inspector was clever. No one would dare choose to do anything to it at this time.

Pei Yi locked the door and logged into the familiar “Youtu” forum page.

Ding-ding-ding-ding.

The urgent notification sound came, and there were instantly four new unread messages in his private inbox.

Pei Yi clicked in and took a look, only to find that they were from Li Yuan, half an hour ago.

“Mr. Will, are you there? I have carefully considered your cooperation proposal these days—

Although I am very interested in the game planning of “The Last Fog,” and I also think that its innovative angle and expansion model can attract many players and take root in China step by step to generate income, all of this is based on the game company’s sufficient capital investment and professional development team.”

“To be honest, the current downhill slope of Dawn Games is almost at its end. Without enough funds to use, and without strong technical support, it is not a good place for “The Last Fog” to grow.”

“I don’t want the work that you put your heart into to be crudely made here, so I apologize, but I cannot agree to your request for cooperation. I wish you good luck in finding a suitable partner.”

Pei Yi read Li Yuan’s response from beginning to end, his eyes filled with admiration. “It seems I really didn’t choose the wrong person.”

For him, a partner who was honest and thoughtful was more important than anything else. Now that the downhill slope was coming to an end, wasn’t it the best time to turn around and go uphill to the summit?

Pei Yi typed his reply. “Mr. Li, I appreciate and admire your frankness, but I think that giving up this opportunity is definitely not a smart choice for a clever person. If there are no conditions, then create conditions, and if there are no funds, then find a way to attract investment.”

—Ding.

A notification sound came from the computer.

Li Yuan, who was waiting for a reply, stood up and quickly clicked on his private message list. When he saw the message sent by Will, a wry smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

How could he not know the importance of good opportunities?

How could he not see that “The Last Fog” was likely to be an excellent project to bring Dawn Games back onto the right path?

If you don’t have funds, then attract investment? But this was not something that was easy to say.

It wasn’t that Li Yuan hadn’t tried hard, but the fact was—

In the investment circle of the Imperial Capital, there were almost no investors who were optimistic about their Dawn Games, and “The Last Fog” was by no means a small game project that could be completed with a small sum of money.

Li Yuan’s rejection of this game was more helpless and unwilling.

He was thinking about how to explain this clearly when Will sent a simple line from the other side of the screen:

“G.M. Capital, look into their company.”

Li Yuan saw this very unfamiliar company name, and immediately brought up a news search. After reading a few lines, his eyes suddenly focused on a name—

Executive Director, Yan Cen.

“…….”

Li Yuan unconsciously held his breath, and quickly scanned the basic introduction to G.M. Capital.

This investment company had been developing overseas since its conception, and although it had been established for a short time, the projects invested in and participated in during the first year had all become new stars in the industry with absolute development advantages, with considerable results.

Therefore, G.M. Capital had also become a dark horse in the overseas investment circle by virtue of its shareholder style, and the scale of advancement in recent years had been overwhelming.

Li Yuan took a deep breath and made himself return to the chat page. “Mr. Will, this company has been developing overseas, can it accept a domestic project investment?”

The other side pledged, “It can, they have also set up venture capital branches in China.”

Li Yuan didn’t doubt Will’s information.

He took the last cigarette out of the pack, but didn’t light it, and only held it between his teeth to focus.

Time passed minute by minute.

Every tick of the alarm clock on the table urged Li Yuan’s heart. His eyes lingered on G.M.’s official website for a while, and he hesitantly chose to reply—

“Mr. Will, the current scale of Dawn Games does not meet their investment target standards. It could be said to be far from it.”

“Sorry, I’m not sure.”

When typing the last line, Li Yuan bit the cigarette butt hard, and his eyes dimmed.

If it were another company or someone else, he would be willing to give it a try no matter how difficult it was, but…..

Ding!

The private message notification sounded again, interrupting Li Yuan’s wandering thoughts.

Will: “Young Boss Li, I think you’ve made a mistake. It is the game project, “The Last Fog” that will convince G.M. to invest, not Dawn Games itself.”

Straightforward and to the point.

Li Yuan couldn’t help but scoff, smiling wryly as he shook his head. “This person really doesn’t save face when he speaks, even more than me.”

Leaving aside the game and partnership itself, Li Yuan really wanted to meet the Great God Will himself, and had an intuition that their tempers would get along well.

Will continued to message: “I hear that Mr. Li studied investment-related courses during school?”

“Since this is the case, why not switch to the perspective of an “investor” to explain the advantages of our game? In addition, you should find out where your own strengths are.”

“…….”

Li Yuan stared at these two lines of words, pondering silently for a long time.

G.M. Capital. Yan Cen.

Where should he find his own strengths?

The fog that had been lingering in his heart for a long time seemed to have found an exit, and finally, he sighed and chose to type a reply on the keyboard—

“Thank you, I’ll try.”

Seeing Li Yuan’s reply, Pei Yi breathed a sigh of relief. “I wish you success, and feel free to contact me whenever you need to.”

As soon as the closing words were delivered, there was a slight commotion in the small living room outside.

Pei Yi’s attention suddenly shifted from the screen. He turned off the computer, got up, and opened the door to check on the situation—

Bo Yueming was sitting on the sofa in the small living room with a bottle of freshly opened champagne on the coffee table, and Inspector, who had gone downstairs to play, also appeared beside him.

“Meow-wu~”

Inspector noticed Pei Yi’s figure and called out coquettishly, but its body was so comfortable that it was motionless under Bo Yueming’s touch.

Pei Yi remembered that he only drank half a glass of champagne at the banquet today. Sighing belatedly, he fixed his eyes on the newly opened champagne on the coffee table. Approaching slowly, he carefully identified—

Kharkiv.

Sure enough, it was a good product.

Bo Yueming sensed Pei Yi standing in front of him, and asked, “Want to try? It’s better than your previous juice.”

“…….”

Pei Yi recalled the shameful amount of alcohol he drank in “one glass” last time, and a trace of heat appeared on his cheeks from the teasing.

But he couldn’t bear the temptation of this champagne, and pretended to be well-behaved while he was yearning for it, “En, a little bit.”

Pei Yi originally thought that Bo Yueming might refuse, and didn’t expect that the other party would agree very directly this time, “All right, you go get a glass first.”

Pei Yi glanced at the various glasses to the side of the wine wall and knew that they were prepared for different types of wine.

However, in order to avoid being exposed, he only chose the most common drinking glass.

Bo Yueming set down his wine glass and held the opened bottle of champagne by feel, preventing Pei Yi from pouring the drink himself. “Give me the glass.”

Pei Yi handed it over eagerly, expectantly watching Bo Yueming pour it into the water glass—

A thin layer of liquor, very little.

“Huh?”

Pei Yi was dumbfounded, and couldn’t help but let out a low exclamation.

Hearing this sound, a very shallow smile appeared at the corners of Bo Yueming’s mouth. “You said a little bit, is that enough?”

“…….”

Is it enough?

You have the nerve to ask?

There is more than this little amount of pet milk poured for Inspector!

Pei Yi screeched loudly in his heart, but could only express his depressed protest in silence.

Bo Yueming seemed to have sensed his petty temper regarding this matter, and added a little more in order to smooth his fur. “One or two sips is enough. You can’t drink well, and will feel uncomfortable if you drink too much.”

Pei Yi thought of his current drinking capacity and silently reached out to grab the cup, reluctantly accepting this fact.

Fine, ba.

Something is better than nothing.

After practicing his drinking capacity, he must take good care of the wine wall before he slipped away!

Bo Yueming was unaware of Pei Yi’s “motivational” thoughts. He looked down, picked up his wine glass again, and swirled it.

In his field of vision, there was no longer the empty gray that had frustrated him in the past. The dots of light symbolizing hope spread and magnified little by little, and everything before him now looked more like a blurred cluster of light.

Occasionally, when concentrating hard, he could also briefly capture the shape of an object.

Bo Yueming raised his head to try to find Pei Yi’s direction. He still held a grudge against what happened during the day. “Pei Yi, I was negligent at the banquet today. I will find a way to deal with Bo Guancheng and Sun Yelong.”

Pei Yi swirled his glass slightly, acquiescing.

In case Sun Yelong wanted to hold him accountable after waking up, he really had to trouble Bo Yueming to deal with it on his behalf.

The atmosphere suddenly went quiet.

Bo Yueming took a sip of champagne, and the complexity in his heart gradually appeared on his face.

Pei Yi raised his eyes to catch it, and added belatedly, “Er-ge, I’m fine. I, I don’t blame you.”

“…….”

Bo Yueming’s fingers suddenly tightened on the wine glass, and he felt as helpless as if his heart had been read.

The incident that happened at the banquet today had really made him brood over it.

Bo Yueming thought that he had brought Pei Yi to the banquet, and due to his inconvenient eyes and lack of awareness, he almost caused the latter to have an accident.

This kind of helplessness and lack of control caused Bo Yueming to pay attention to the condition of his eyes again, and it was also because of this that he seemed particularly concerned about Qin Yishun’s appearance.

Bo Yueming took a sip of champagne to cool his emotions. “Why didn’t you want to leave with your brother today?”

Pei Yi couldn’t immediately figure out Bo Yueming’s thoughts, so he paused for a moment and asked, “Why, want me to go?”

Bo Yueming stabilized his mind, and exposed his wounds in a rare moment, “I have bad eyesight. I can’t always be aware of danger when I take you out, just like today.”

Asking himself, how long would it take for Bo Yueming’s eyes to recover? To what extent would they recover in the end? Before the dust settled, his abilities and self-confidence were not without flaws.

When Qin Yinshun proposed to take Pei Yi away, Bo Yueming suddenly realized that he had no reason to refuse—

Since Old Mrs. Bo fell ill and was hospitalized, he had no support in this family. He was unable to confide in anyone, and unable to show weakness, otherwise there would always be someone eyeing him like a tiger and taking the opportunity to bite him.

A little carelessness, and he would be smashed to pieces.

After getting along with each other for this period of time, Bo Yueming had long since lost his initial resistance and suspicion toward Pei Yi. and understood that in the so-called “marriage relationship,” it was best to keep the other party away from all the disputes within the Bo family.

Pei Yi finally got a clue from Bo Yueming’s expression—

Understood!

This was the “self-doubt” moment every villain goes through!

Because of some accidents, he doubted himself, and if there was no one to unravel it, then the process of inner gloom and blackening would be accelerated.

Holding the wine glass, Pei Yi got up from his soft stool and patted the small head of Inspector, who was lying there comfortably.

“Meow~”

The very human-like Inspector gave up its place next to Bo Yueming, and changed to another place to continue to lie down.

Pei Yi raised his lips and sat down.

Sensing movement nearby, Bo Yueming shifted his sight, still trying to see Pei Yi’s figure clearly through the blurred light. “What is it?”

Pei Yi sat still and repeated his stance, “I don’t blame you.”

During these two banquets, he was the one who watched the fun following the story progress of the original text.

Had it not been for what happened today, he would have no way of knowing the real reason why the original owner refused to go out after the banquet.

Sun Yelong had wicked intentions toward him, and Bo Guancheng and Pei Huan jointly set up the situation, which was essentially a terrible thing.

Besides, Bo Yueming’s eyes were still injured, so arriving on time after seeing the message was not an easy thing to do. 

Pei Yi studied Bo Yueming’s eyes. The dark blue irises were still calm and without waves, like most closed off and mysterious sea, good-looking and seductive.

Perhaps because of his natural preferences, compared to Yan Cen and Qin Yishun who were traditionally positive characters, Pei Yi preferred Bo Yueming’s looks, the strength and misery of a villain.

That was why, the moment he saw the real Bo Yueming, he was determined to stay.

Pei Yi traced Bo Yueming’s outline with his eyes from a close distance, and after confirming that he wouldn’t get tired of looking at his handsome face, he smiled and called out, “Er-ge.”

Bo Yueming could hear his pleasure. “What is it?”

Pei Yi didn’t want to tell a long story including “spoilers,” so he tried to pick simple words that the original owner might say. “Don’t be unhappy, your eyes will be fine.”

“…….”

Bo Yueming felt his heart stop beating, and then it lost control and began to beat wildly.

At this moment, it seemed that the problem was not his eyes, but his heart.

Bo Yueming’s fingers on his wine glass reddened with the force of his grip, while he tried to maintain stability on the surface. “How do you know they’ll be fine?”

“I, I just know.”

Pei Yi feared that Bo Yueming would get to the bottom of it, so he touched his right and left eyes with purposeful childishness. “Like this, just touch it and know.”

Those perpetually cool fingertips touched his eyelids, light and soft.

Bo Yueming gave a light chuckle, expelling the gloom before it could erode his heart. “Then tell me, when will I get better?”

“……..”

Pei Yi remained silent, deliberately not speaking on this specific issue.

He inwardly recalled the key plot points in the book. Right now, even the real and fake young masters’ switch at birth had not yet been revealed, so according to this, it was still far from time.

To be honest, Pei Yi was quite curious about what Bo Yueming would be like after recovering his eyesight. But once that happened, he would not be able to conceal his “pretending.”

En, he must run away before that!

He must find a way to take Inspector away too!

Seeing that he was silent, Bo Yueming called again, “Pei Yi.”

Pei Yi returned to his senses with a habitual hum. “En?”

Hearing his kittenish tone, Bo Yueming was somehow put in a good mood. He loosened the grip of his fingers and shook the wine glass in his hand. 

Pei Yi misunderstood, and raised his glass to touch the other lightly and uncertainly. “Cheers?”

An image suddenly burst out in Bo Yueming’s mind of a kitten clapping its paws, and he responded with a smile. “En, I’ll borrow your auspicious words.”

He was suddenly looking forward to it—

The day when he could officially meet Pei Yi.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Twenty-Four <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Six

The adjutant also clearly saw that the contingent blocking the way were not refugees this time, but they didn’t seem like rebels either. There was still rain and fog in the mountains, and his vision was very blurred, so he could only crane his neck and look forward like a confused tortoise.

Because of the rain, Liu Xian’an was wrapped up in a white cloak and wearing a hat that covered most of his head and face, only revealing a pair of eyes. The adjutant couldn’t actually see anything clearly, but the more this was so, he became even more curious to see, so engrossed that he didn’t notice that there was another person on the horse.

Gao Lin was also in awe of this idiot.

Seeing the team of horses coming closer and closer, Xuan Jiao took two steps in place warningly. It was born fat and strong, and after being wetted down by rain and fog, its hair became wetter and shinier, comparable to the scales of a transformed dragon. When it gave a short neigh, all the horses on the other side stopped in unison, flicking their tails nervously.

Caught off guard, the adjutant tightened the reins and rushed forward, shouting indiscriminately: “Presumptuous! Where did you come from –”

Before he could finish his sentence, the horse under him had already bucked. First, he hung sideways in the saddle, and then he thumped and rolled to the ground due to his insufficient arm strength. 

Liu Xian’an was simply astonished. 

You can’t even ride a horse?

The rest of the soldiers quickly helped their adjutant up. Among them was a horse trainer who caught a hint and whispered in his ear that the black horse seemed to be the divine horse, Xuan Jiao.

“Xuan what…..” The adjutant was still in a state of embarrassment, unable to react for a moment. After he spoke, he was startled and raised his head tremblingly with numb nerves. This time, he at last saw another god-like person on Xuan Jiao. His knees went weak, and it was convenient to kneel: “Xiao, Xiao, Xiao, Your Royal Highness Xiao Wang.”

Gao Lin didn’t want to say much, and only said: “Go and call Lu Xiang.”

“Yes.” The adjutant scrambled onto his horse without asking any more questions, and ran away without taking a breath.

Lu Xiang was still waiting for news when he saw him running back with an out-of-sorts expression, his face pale and his body foul-smelling. He was so frightened that he had urinated in his pants. Guessing the identity of the team blocking them, Lu Xiang only cursed, “Useless trash, you embarrass me.” Then he kicked the adjutant away, tidied up his armor, and took another troop of soldiers to greet His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

At this time, the drizzle had stopped. Liu Xian’an tried to take off his hat, but Liang Shu fastened it back and even casually tugged the brim even lower: “You take a nap and look at fewer dirty things.”

“…….”

The “dirty thing” who came in a hurry tightened the reins and bowed down: “This commander has seen the prince.”

“Get up,” Liang Shu said. “Get on the horse, let’s talk about the military situation first.”

“Yes.” Lu Xiang had already prepared for this. After all, he came from a wealthy family, and when he was young, he was also part of the royal city scene. He cold handle both his appearance and his words well, at least enough to not look like an idiot. He threw out well-thought-out rhetoric, eight points false and two points true. The truth was what Huang Wangxiang did during this time, and the false was to cover up his dereliction of duty.

But Liang Shu didn’t intend to settle accounts with him at this time, and only asked: “What preparations has Commander Lu made to fight?”

Lu Xiang replied: “Destroy the leader and the gang will collapse. Attack Sanshui City first.”

Liang Shu took a cowhide scroll from Gao Lin and tossed it to Lu Xiang: “Dispatch orders. The army will change course at Buddha Cliff and attack Qingyang City instead.”

“Yes!” Lu Xiang caught the cowhide scroll, and after opening it, he couldn’t comprehend it for a long time. “All this timber, cowhide, and elite soldiers must be procured within five days?”

“Is there a problem?”

“There isn’t.”

Lu Xiang didn’t know the particulars, so he didn’t dare to ask any more questions. He could only grit his teeth and accept the job, accompanying Liang Shu all the way back to the army.

After setting eyes on His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, the morale of the army immediately increased several levels. Liu Xian’an could clearly perceive all of this. If the previous army was a hard block of iron, then presently it was covered in a layer of hot magma, making the whole sky red and bright.

The adjutant was anxious for several days. Seeing that His Royal Highness Xiao Wang didn’t seem to want to trouble him, and solely focused on military affairs all day long, his heart slowly returned to his chest. He comforted himself, there is no one who does not collect rations during wartime, I haven’t done anything outrageous, so I don’t have to be overly suspicious.

He even had the courage to find Gao Lin, and boasted about his patriotism for a long time.

Gao Lin listened to him patiently, and first expressed his approval before saying kindly: “Since that is the case, let Adjutant Li go and help cut down trees. It happens that there is a shortage of manpower at that end, so you can set an example.” After saying so, he beckoned two guards over and “invited” him into the forest without further explanation. He himself went before Lu Xiang and praised this noble choice of not being afraid of hardships and hard work.

Lu Xiang’s face was full of “En, en, yes, yes,” but in his heart, he didn’t believe a word. He could see that Gao Lin was deliberately embarrassing him. In fact, Lu Xiang didn’t care too much about if this straw bag was going to cut trees or dig coal, but he did care about why he was targeted by the people of Xiao Wang Palace and sent to chop trees or dig coal – could it be that they had heard some rumors?

Thus, he deliberately found an opportunity to seek out the adjutant in the forest. This dirty, tiring work could not be done cleanly, so everyone was covered in mud, but because Adjutant Li was used to being pampered, the mud was very obvious, and his hands were so worn out that the webs between his fingers were bleeding. He cried and begged in unspeakable misery: “Commander, save me!”

When Lu Xiang asked him what was going on, Adjutant Li hesitated at first and refused to say anything. Presently, he confessed that he tried to make a connection with Lieutenant General Gao, but failed and was sent to chop down trees instead.

“Foolish,” Lu Xiang cursed, but was internally relieved. He supposed it was only that this dog’s flattery just didn’t land correctly, so he gave a few perfunctory words of comfort, and also said that after their great victory, he would go to the emperor and fight for his merits. Then he sent him back to logging.

The entire contingent was moving fast. Because there were always people seeking out Liang Shu, during this time, Liu Xian’an had been riding his own horse. When he was truly sleepy, he went to lie down in a cart carrying food and fodder, and when he emerged, his hair was often covered in whiskers of wheat.

The soldiers around all laughed. They already knew that this was the lazy Second Young Master Liu, so they were very tolerant of his napping behavior. Liu Xian’an also smiled. He liked these energetic young people. They looked much more pleasing to the eye than those soldiers who bullied others, so he stretched hard and climbed up to sit next to the coachman, chatting with everyone.

But Lu Xiang became worried again and arranged for one of his confidants to mix in with the team of chatterers, wanting to see if Liu Xian’an was talking nonsense. As a result, his confidant was forced to listen for the whole day about how one begets two, two begets three, three begets all things,^[1] something about not being alone or an only son. When he went back, his head was dizzy and he didn’t remember half a word. After thinking about it, he racked his brains for a long time and choked out a sentence: “Something about a widow.”^[2]

Lu Xiang almost vomited blood.

He went to listen in person, and Liu Xian’an happened to be talking about the widows and the lonely.

In fact, few soldiers could comprehend this sort of erudite rhetoric and fluttering daoist speech. But they liked Liu Xian’an’s demeanor and tone of voice when he spoke. Slowly, like a cool spring, tranquilly describing the good life after war, a stable society and industry revitalized.

Lu Xiang thought to himself, so he is a bookworm.

The army quickly reached the outskirts of Qingyang City.

This night, Liu Xian’an was lazily sleeping in the grain cart again. Halfway through sleeping, he felt as if there was an earthquake, so he grasped the void with his hands and tried to wake up.

A-Ning watched on helplessly as the prince carried his young master into the woods, sighing deeply with a feeling of powerlessness.

Why is it like this every time? Can’t you wait for me to wake him up first?

Liang Shu called: “Wake up.”

Liu Xian’an let out a wu, not fully awake.

Liang Shu set him on the ground: “Everyone is waiting for you.”

Liu Xian’an thought, what are they waiting for me for? Yawning, he still didn’t move.

Liang Shu flicked a string of water droplets onto his face.

Liu Xian’an: “Achoo!”

He forced his eyes to open a small slit. Seeing that the person before him was His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, he opened the slit a little wider and looked at him.

Liang Shu turned his head to the other side.

The stars connected to form a galaxy, shining brightly, and within the galaxy were countless giant, silver-white birds spreading their wings and soaring across the sky one by one. At first, Liu Xian’an didn’t think it was strange, since in his world, this sort of spectacle was so common, and there was nothing to be surprised about. But he quickly realized that this wasn’t right!

This time, his eyes were completely open, wide and round, comparable to A-Ning’s. He hastened forward a short distance, trying to see more clearly.

Dozens of soldiers were flying down from a high cliff one after another with flying wings, circling in the air as they pleased. Relying on the steering wheel at hand, they would always fall to the predetermined centerpoint. Liu Xian’an said happily: “Isn’t the test flight tomorrow night?” After speaking, he doubted himself again. Had he slept for another day and night?

“I couldn’t wait for you to see it,” Liang Shu said. “It is better than expected. This battle will definitely be a victory.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t blink, staring at the Mute Condors in the sky.

After a while, Liang Shu said: “Why haven’t you said anything in a long time? What are you thinking?”

Liu Xian’an was eager to try: “I want to wear flying wings too.”

Liang Shu took his hand: “Let’s go.”

Huh? Liu Xian’an jogged to keep up with him, and hurriedly clarified: “I meant after the war.”

“Why wait until after the war?” Liang Shu led him onto the horse. “You made them, so you can fly one whenever you want.”

“But the prince still has to lead the army to fight.” Liu Xian’an blocked the wind with his sleeves. “These few days should be more……cough, cough, cough.” He got a stomach full of cold air.

Liang Shu smiled and wrapped his cloak around him: “All right, don’t talk anymore.”

Liu Xian’an pushed hard to peek out with his two eyes.

Because it was a test flight, there was no suitable wind direction this night, so the cliff everyone chose was not dangerous. Xuan Jiao galloped all the way, and soon reached the peak.

Liu Xian’an asked a soldier to help put on the flying wings. Twisting and turning, he approached the edge of the cliff and closed his eyes, about to jump down. 

“Ah, ah, ah, wait a moment!” Everyone at the scene was shocked.

With sharp eyes and quick hands, Liang Shu brought the person back and felt a headache: “When will you correct your habit of actively seeking death?”

Liu Xian’an didn’t understand: “What about seeking death, I drew the blueprint, so I naturally know how to use it.”

“It doesn’t matter if you know how to use it.” Liang Shu loosened the flying wings and encircled him from behind. “I’ll take you with me.”

Second Young Master Liu promptly drew in his hands. This was also fine.

It was good to not have to do it himself.

---

[1] This is an extract from the Daoist text “The Book of Dao” by Lao Tzu, which is famously so mysterious and hard to interpret that I’m not even going to try to figure out what this means. ⮐

[2] Part of the text of “The Book of Dao” reads: What people hate are loneliness, widowhood, and lack of food. ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Thirty-Eight << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty

“…….”

Pei Huan was taken aback, and felt that Pei Yi’s greeting made people’s hearts tremble.

He looked at Sun Yelong, who had passed out in the room, and knew something wasn’t right—

The other person clearly tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice he lured it with,^[1] and after the plot was exposed, he actually suffered a loss himself!

Qin Yishun’s heart was softened by Pei Yi’s greeting, but in the blink of an eye, Pei Huan was scrutinized like never before. “Xiao Huan, I heard that you also know Chairman Sun?”

“Yes, I know him.”

Pei Huan met his dark eyes and got stuck.

Qin Yishun was five or six years older than Pei Huan and Pei Yi. Unsmiling since childhood, he was young and mature, and always loved to take care of the two younger brothers for the adults and elders.

One time, Pei Huan had done something wrong behind his back, and Qin Yishun caught him on the spot. After he repeatedly apologized and begged for mercy, the other party didn’t tell Old Father Pei or the other adults, but Qin Yishun still looked at him with a dark face in private for a while.

Since then, Pei Huan carried an indescribable fear of this nominal cousin.

He hardly dared to show his true emotions in front of the other party, and every time they met, he used a smile to cover up the unfamiliarity of their relationship.

Qin Yishun had moved to Yuncheng with his parents since high school, and could only go back to the Imperial Capital every summer vacation.

Later, the other party enlisted in the army. With his outstanding abilities, he passed the selection for the special forces, and he and his family had not seen one another for several years.

Pei Huan had heard Old Father Pei mention before that Qin Yishun would soon be discharged from the army—

Unexpectedly, in a flash, they met here by accident.

Pei Huan quickly returned to his senses and evoked his usual smile. “When did Cousin return to the Imperial Capital? Why not say something in advance, so that……”

“Young Boss Pei, now is not the time for you cousins to exchange pleasantries.” Bo Yueming interrupted and brought the topic back to the point. “As a distinguished guest invited by you, Chairman Sun knew that Pei Yi and I have a marriage contract, and even lured him into a room behind my back. Who gave him the courage?”

When Qin Yishun heard the word ‘marriage,’ he frowned in disapproval.

“…….”

Pei Huan’s smile stiffened slightly, and a trace of tension flashed deep in his eyes.

As a partner of Bo and Pei, he certainly couldn’t ignore Sun Yelong, but right now, facing Pei Yi and the protectors on his left and right, it might not be that simple for him to send that person to the hospital immediately.

At this thought, Pei Huan immediately donned a shocked expression and denied it. “C-Chairman Sun had such crooked ideas about Xiao Yi? I didn’t know about this, ah!”

“Second Young Master, Chairman Sun is indeed a guest invited by Mr. Bo and I because he is about to have a business partnership with Bo and Pei.”

Pei Huan seemed to feel that his explanation was not appropriate enough, so he hastily added, “Oh, and just halfway through the banquet, Chairman Sun said that he was getting older and couldn’t handle much alcohol, so Mr. Bo asked an attendant to open a suite and let him go upstairs to rest.”

“Cousin, Xiao Yi is my younger brother. If I knew that Chairman Sun had such thoughts about him, wouldn’t I have immediately put a stop to it?”

Pei Huan took a quick breath, mixing regret with happiness, “Fortunately, you found out in time that something was going to happen to Xiao Yi. I don’t even know how to explain it to Grandpa and the others.”

Pei Yi was amazed at Pei Huan’s guilt-ridden eyes—

The first sentence denied his knowledge.

The second sentence raised the relationship with Chairman Sun to the level of a business relationship between the two.

The third sentence was to blame the person involved and Bo Guancheng, who was not present when the room was opened.

The fourth sentence, he didn’t forget to end by playing the ‘family card.’

How could this be so ‘panicked and shocked’ that he couldn’t speak? This was clearly smooth, undrafted sophistry, ah!

It seemed that the original text had indeed beautified the protagonist shou’s behavior. The real Pei Huan was simply an egoist with a good disguise, a hypocritical white lotus!

There was a sudden sound of footsteps at the door, and the ambulance personnel on duty at the hotel came in and asked, “Is something wrong here? Where is the injured party?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

The hotel manager, who had been silent the whole time, bravely stepped forward. “Gentlemen, why don’t you take the injured party to the hospital first? If this really costs a person’s life, neither me nor the hotel can afford it, ah.”

Pei Huan took the opportunity to continue “Second Young Master, Cousin, and Xiao Yi, I was negligent and didn’t take care of this matter, but Chairman Sun is the partner of Bo and Pei, after all. If something happens, it would be difficult for both of them to handle.”

Qin Yishun did not directly respond to Pei Huan’s enjoinder, but turned his attention back to Pei Yi with implicit concern—

Since he was a child, the other party had always been a soft-tempered person who was easily frightened. At this moment, the corners of his eyes and the tip of his nose were still red, and at first glance, he looked like a pitiful person who hadn’t recovered.

“Second Young Master Bo, Xiao Yi dared to hit a person with things, so it can be seen that Sun Yelong really did frighten him. I want to let him calm down first and deal with things slowly, so that he won’t be stimulated again. Do you agree?”

A deadly earnest tone, and the ultimate double standard.

Qin Yishun perfectly rationalized the blood-stained iron ornament Pei Yi held in his hand at first, and the big, bloody hole in Sun Yelong’s head.

In his heart, even if his little brother made a huge mistake, it was the other party who was shameless first!

“……..”

Ah?

It turned out to be like this?

Hearing Qin Yishun’s remarks about protecting his little brother with his filter fully turned on, Pei Yi promptly lowered his head with guilt.

This height of 1.7 or 1.8 meters, sandwiched between two men of 1.9 meters, it was more and more—

Weak, pitiful, but absolutely right!

Bo Yueming also feared that Pei Yi would be unable to recover, so he nodded in agreement. “En.”

Some accounts could be settled in private, not in front of the kitten.

Pei Huan saw that the two reached an agreement because of Pei Yi, but he couldn’t get half a sentence of approval after explaining for a long time, and his heart was once again filled with confusion as unexplained anomalies abounded.

He took a deep breath and quickly ordered the hotel manager and medical staff, “You’re still not hurrying up!”

“Oh, oh, yes!”

The group of people took a simple stretcher and carried out the half-awake Sun Yelong.

The wound on his forehead showed no sign of clotting, and blood soaked the half-open collar of the bathrobe along his cheeks. He looked at Pei Huan with eyes he couldn’t fully open, but still had the strength to point and curse with trembling fingers—

“You wait!”

After speaking, he lost his strength and passed out.

Pei Huan finally realized how seriously Sun Yelong was injured, and the anxiety in his eyes grew worse. He even had a terrible intuition—

Were the additional investment funds going to happen?

No, this big cooperation with the German Chamber of Commerce, a project with the early construction funds paid for in advance, was probably going to be completely ruined!

. . . . . .

Concerned about the project, Pei Huan bit the bullet and followed the others to the hospital. Soon, only Bo Yueming, Pei Yi, and the others were left in the suite.

Uncle Kai suggested, “Second Young Master, why don’t I have the driver prepare now, and we’ll take Little Sir back to talk about it?”

“Wait a minute.”

Qin Yinshun bluntly refused, but cast his eyes toward Bo Yueming with implied scrutiny, “Second Young Master Bo, I want to talk with you alone. Is that possible?”

It seemed like a friendly inquiry, but with a hint of force that could not be refused.

Bo Yueming naturally heard his meaning and understood who the other party would be speaking for, so he instructed, “Uncle Kai, go get some desserts and a hot drink to calm Pei Yi down.”

Uncle Kai agreed and quickly walked out the door.

Qin Yishun looked around the whole layout of the suite, then changed his tone 180 degrees for Pei Yi, “Xiao Yi, just sit on the small sofa for a moment, okay?”

Pei Yi looked at their two faces and nodded, walking to the sofa.

Don’t meddle when you shouldn’t meddle, keep silent when you should keep silent. Of course, you couldn’t be careless when it was time to make a move. This was his consistent style of doing things

“…….”

Sensing Pei Yi’s obedient departure, Bo Yueming frowned briefly.

In the next second, he heard Qin Yishun’s indifferent tone, “Let’s go to the inner room to talk. Second Young Master Bo’s eyes are not convenient, do you need me to help you in?”

Bo Yueming removed his guide glasses, and found Qin Yishun’s general direction through the changes in the increasing spots of light. “No need to take the trouble. Slow down a little, Mr. Qin, and I can naturally keep up.”

“Okay.”

In just a few sentences, Pei Yi on the sofa felt a sense of potential hostility.

He watched Qin Yishun and Bo Yueming walk to the back room, and quickly recalled the plot related to the two—

Qin Yishun played an absolutely positive role in the original text, and the description of him was very succinct and clear, “a big madman who was protective of his little brother, calm but with a double standard.”

He had been very protective of his cousin ‘Pei Yi’ since he was a child, and when he learned that the “Real Young Master” Li Yuan had returned to Pei Manor, he also gave him a short period of care. But the most centralized episode describing his character was after the original owner fell into the river and died unexpectedly.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yishun hurried to the police station. It turned out that his well-behaved cousin was soaked in water beyond recognition, and hatred and anger arose in his heart.

Then, he heard ‘Pei Huan’ and ‘Yan Cen’ mention:

Bo Yueming, who had blackened and gone crazy, frightened the original owner who lived under the same roof. The stimulated ‘Pei Yi’ ran out of Bo Manor secretly due to his fear, which led to a tragic end.

At that time, Bo Yueming had grown into a qualified villain, and started to deal with the Yan and Pei families. Knowing the “truth,” Qin Yishun decided to join forces with Yan Cen and Pei Huan to fight back in order to avenge his deceased little brother.

As for the ending, it was self-evident.

Naturally, the villain fell, and the good guys won a complete victory.

. . . . . .

Qin Yishun’s plot descriptions were in the middle and late stages, and today’s celebration banquet could only be regarded as an early plot, so Pei Yi was truly surprised by Qin Yishun’s early appearance.

After thinking for a long time, he only came up with one possibility—

The original text was written around the perspective of the male protagonist. In the same timeline, the fact that communication between some characters was not shown did not mean they didn’t communicate. It was only that those plots were not important, so they didn’t appear in the book.

Pei Yi looked at the closed room. He expected that the topic inside should be about himself. After some thought, he still couldn’t hold back his curiosity, so he got up and approached lightly, pricking up his ears to listen.

Inside the room.

Qin Yishun walked to the French window and stood still, then turned to face the silently following Bo Yueming. “Second Young Master Bo, I’ll just say something straight.”

Bo Yueming had a pretty good idea what it would be. “Mr. Qin suddenly appeared at the banquet today to look for Pei Yi?”

“Yes.” Qin Yishun was firm and unambiguous. “Not only to see him, but to take him back.”

“Where does Mr. Qin plan to take him back? To the Pei family?”

Bo Yueming’s bright eyes shifted slightly, and he revealed the truth, “It seems that Mr. Qin is still not clear that this marriage was decided by the two old men. Since Mr. Qin objects, why didn’t he step forward at that time?”

“…….”

Qin Yishun clenched his drooping hands for a moment.

He only officially retired a week ago, and because of the work and mission environment, he knew little about the outside world before.

Qin Yishun had originally planned to stay at home in Yucheng for a while and return to the Imperial Capital after making a follow-up plan. As a result, he belatedly heard about the marriage of ‘Pei Yi and the Second Young Master of the Bo family’ at the dining table last night.

Unable to sit still when he heard the news, Qin Yishun packed his things and bought a flight for this morning. At the same time, he also contacted friends in the Imperial Capital circle to inquire, so he learned of Pei Yi’s latest whereabouts when he got off the plane.

It was just that he didn’t expect to encounter such a situation as soon as he arrived.

Qin Yishun was regretful, and admitted his mistake, “It’s because I didn’t take care of Xiao Yi all these years.”

Bo Yueming didn’t expect Qin Yishun to blame himself so easily, and doubts arose in his heart again. “Mr. Qin, you and Pei Yi are just cousins, and there is a five or six year age difference. Why do you care about him so much?”

He paused and added, “Forgive me, I have been in contact with the Pei family during this time, and from how he acts and speaks, I can tell Pei Yi’s situation in the Pei family all these years. Almost no relatives treated him sincerely, and his life was not good.”

“Now you say you want to take Pei Yi away. Why should I believe you are different from the rest of the Pei family?”

Qin Yishun suddenly said, “I treat Xiao Yi as my own little brother, how could I treat him badly?”

Sensing his sudden change of mood, Bo Yueming raised his eyebrows slightly.

Qin Yishun quickly restrained his agitation, and simply didn’t hide it from the person in front of him, “My mother is the eldest in the Pei family and the first to get married. After she gave birth to me, the Qin family experienced financial fluctuations in the industry……”

At that time, the Qin couple were so busy that they couldn’t afford to take care of their son, who had just started kindergarten.

Qin Yishun clearly recalled, “When I was five years old, I was cared for by my uncle for a long time.”

The uncle he spoke of was Pei Yi’s biological father, Pei Ruye.

Qin Yishun couldn’t remember many things from when he was five or six years old, but he remembered that Pei Ruye would pick him up from school every day, take him home for dinner, and wait with him until the Qin couple finished work.

At that time, Pei Ruye had already taken his wife, Shu Wan, to set up his own family. Not only did they have a lovely daughter, Shu Wan also had a newly conceived baby in her belly.

In the heart of the young Qin Yishun, Pei Ruye and his wife were similar to his biological parents, and he also treated the unborn Pei Yi as his own younger brother at Pei Ruye’s joking instruction.

Later, Qin Yishun was taken to Yuncheng by the Qin couple.

“It took two or three years before I returned to the Imperial Capital and learned of what happened to my uncle’s family through talking with the elders.”

“After Pei Yi was born, I saw him at the Pei household for the first time when I was eight years old. At that time, he was only a little over two years old and walked crookedly. He had obviously never seen me before, but knew to call me ‘brother’ when he opened his mouth. His whole body was so white and smelled like milk……”

When Qin Yishun recalled this, a rare soft smile appeared on his steady and resolute face.

Bo Yueming imagined the scene for a moment, and the corners of his mouth loosened.

Qin Yishun continued to explain, “My parents arranged for me to study in the Imperial Capital, and I voluntarily lived at the Pei residence until the third year of junior high.”

Compared with Pei Huan, who had his own parents to take care of him, Qin Yishun and Pei Yi’s sibling relationship was obviously closer, with the latter following him all day long and continuously calling him “brother.”

Later, Pei Yi accidentally fell into the swimming pool at a birthday party, which was a well-known accident.

“After waking up from being in a coma for a few days, he was very similar to that memory, but not the same. He knew who I was, but didn’t want to talk much. Occasionally, he would cry and make a fuss if there was a big movement next to him, and he couldn’t stand any stimulation.”

“I tried to communicate with him again and again, and found that he was still willing to get close to me, and would also secretly whisper simple things to me.”

“It was only that I was studying at the time, and the days when I could be with Xiao Yi were not long. When I returned to the Imperial Capital later, I found that he had become increasingly timid and withdrawn, and was unwilling to talk anymore.”

When Bo Yueming heard Qin Yishun’s narration, the suspicion in his mind gradually came true—

Pei Yi, as a child, should have had the chance to be completely cured.

It was a pity that because of Old Mrs. Pei’s death, Old Father Pei’s contempt, and the duplicity of the Pei Ruzhang husband and wife, day after day, his sealed heart was aggravated.

Qin Yishun shelved his memories of the past, moving back to the topic, “Mr. Bo, one of my purposes for retiring at this time and moving back to the Imperial Capital is for Xiao Yi.”

“In the past, I was young and my abilities were limited, but now things are different. In the future, I will make up for my brotherly obligations as much as possible. Although I came a bit late and failed to stop the marriage before it happened, it was better than delaying longer.”

“Second Young Master Bo, you have always been outstanding. I can guess that this marriage was probably not something you wanted.”

Qin Yishun looked at Bo Yueming anew with enough respect and straightforwardness. “It’s only that Xiao Yi’s situation is special, and your eyes can’t protect him now.”

Although Qin Yishun was far removed from the disputes of the wealthy families, he expected that the interior of the Bo family was by no means simple, and he didn’t want the simple-minded Pei Yi to live in such a complicated environment.

“If this kind of thing happened once today, it can happen a second time under your nose in the future, and you may not always get there in time.”

“…….”

Comparing the false concern of hiding needles in cotton and having mixed feelings with Qin Yishun’s candid and respectful tone, Bo Yueming could fully understand and accept this, not to mention that he couldn’t deny—

Pei Yi’s experience today was indeed inseparable from his own negligence and carelessness.

Thinking that Sun Yelong might have had evil intentions from the first second he laid eyes on Pei Yi, but that as he was standing beside Pei Yi, he couldn’t perceive and avoid the danger in time, a trace of indescribable sourness condensed on the tip of Bo Yueming’s heart.

Qin Yishun continued, “Second Young Master Bo, in any case, the two parties have already completed their commercial partnership through ‘marriage,’ so just let me leave with Xiao Yi. What do you say?”

Bo Yueming’s expression was turbulent, but he couldn’t utter the word “Yes.”

Qin Yishun didn’t understand Bo Yueming’s hesitation, and asked: “Second Young Master Bo?”

Swish.

The closed door was suddenly pushed in.

Qin Yishun quickly looked that way, and Bo Yueming also turned toward the source of the sound, guessing, “Pei Yi?”

“Mm.”

Pei Yi pushed the door open and walked in, chewing rapidly with puffy cheeks and holding half of an unfinished cake in his hand.

Uncle Kai at his side was a little embarrassed, and had no choice but to explain, “Second Young Master, Mr. Qin, Little Sir has been standing at the door and refusing to leave, and I really didn’t want to force him.”

“…….”

Pei Yi, whose eavesdropping was exposed, pursed his lips and looked at the half piece of cake that he hadn’t finished eating yet, suddenly feeling a little guilty.

But if he didn’t rush in, Bo Yueming might take this opportunity to send him away.

Pei Yi didn’t want his plan to be disrupted, so he reluctantly stuffed the small cake back into Uncle Kai’s hand.

He walked to Bo Yueming’s side and mumbled, “You said, no driving me away.”

Bo Yueming understood the meaning of his words, and his expression relaxed. “I won’t drive you away.”

Qin Yishun frowned. “Xiao Yi?”

As an older generation, Uncle Kai clarified the thoughts of the three of them, “Little Sir, you don’t want to leave with Mr. Qin? You want to stay at the Bo residence, right?”

Pei Yi nodded definitively, and had some plans in mind—

For him, both Bo Yueming and Qin Yishun were people he met after transmigrating, and his impressions and judgements of these two people had nothing to do with the “pros and cons” established in the original text.

Compared with Bo Yueming, who he had been around for a while, Qin Yishun, who he had met for the first time, was even more unfamiliar to him.

Of course, Pei Yi believed that Qin Yishun’s kindness was all out of sincerity, but he was not the original owner, after all, so he was naturally not the one the other party really wanted to protect.

Going forward ten thousand steps, even if Qin Yishun could protect him for a while, could he protect him for a lifetime?

What if the other party met his other half that he liked in the future? He couldn’t continue to live with the other person, could he? Wasn’t this holding people up?!

Pei Yi had never thought of being attached to someone for a lifetime, and choosing to stay at the Bo residence now was only temporary.

That being the case, why bother to go back and forth?

Looking at Pei Yi, who was already standing beside Bo Yueming, Qin Yishun felt a long-lost disappointment, but he still asked patiently, “Xiao Yi, you don’t want to leave with Brother?”

Pei Yi looked at Qin Yishun with a vaguely lost expression, but still nodded heartlessly.

He thought, with Qin Yishun’s concern for Pei Yi, it was likely that a similar plot should have happened in the early stages of the original text, but since it was a “non-protagonist plot,” it wasn’t shown.

“…….”

Qin Yishun would never force Pei Yi to make an unwilling choice, but a hint of disappointment welled up in his perpetually firm eyes. “Xiao Yi, why don’t you want to leave?”

Pei Yi thought for a moment, and determined that Qin Yishun, who had decided to “sincerely protect his brother,” had to be provided a reason.

He looked at Bo Yueming beside him and thought of the simplest and most suitable reason. Then he suddenly grabbed the man and forcibly dragged him two steps forward.

Bo Yueming staggered because of Pei Yi, and grabbed him to stabilize himself. “Careful, slow down.”

Pei Yi was already accustomed to occasional hand-in-hand contact between the two, so he responded in a low voice, “Er-ge.”

Standing opposite, Qin Yishun heard this call, and inadvertently stared at their intertwined hands. A bit of sourness welled up in his heart before he could stop it—

Pei Yi, across from him, called out even more obediently, “Brother.”

Qin Yishun’s sourness faded away, and he restrained his buoyant joy. “En, that’s right.”

Pei Yi’s eyes turned back and forth between the two as he thought of cutting off the line of opposition between the two from now on, so he adopted a “loving family” tone and introduced them slowly.

“Brother, he is my husband.”

“…….”

Bo Yueming’s Adam’s apple rolled, and his unseeing eyes suddenly didn’t know where to look.

This was the first time he had been introduced as “husband” to the outside world. Unprepared, he actually felt a kind of reservedness he had never felt before, and unconsciously straightened his posture.

“…….”

Qin Yishun also didn’t expect Pei Yi’s reason to be so straightforward. When he reacted, his eyes were sharp, and he stared silently for a long time as if interrogating a criminal.

Facing Bo Yueming’s handsome features, Qin Yishun, who never liked to judge others by appearances, inwardly let out a cold snort—

That’s it?

Was he qualified to be his brother-in-law?

Why was it that the more he looked at the other party, the more unpleasant he seemed?

---

[1] If you steal a chicken only to lose the rice (偷鸡不成蚀把米), you try to gain an advantage, only to end up worse off. ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Twenty-Three <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Five

Yao Muze’s master, a former envoy of the Imperial Hospital, resigned due to old age and returned to his hometown, and then traveled around the country as a doctor. Two years ago, he went to Nanjiang to study the local Gu poison. This was a mysterious and unsolvable problem for the people of the Xuan Dynasty, so he wanted to find a solution.

In Nanjiang, he met a local hermit witch doctor. The two became fast friends and exchanged medical knowledge, and after studying for two years, he invited the other party to travel to the Xuan Dynasty. Unexpectedly, he was found by Yan Mingting’s people as soon as he stepped foot into Xuan Dynasty territory.

The court envoy respected the Yan Mingting father and son, so he brought his friend to accompany him to Beijing. The two masters of the General’s Mansion were unexpectedly not there, so he could only seek out his apprentice first.

Yao Muze had come to the General’s Mansion many times to stand watch, and he just happened to catch them on the fourth time he came here.

The group of people sat in the front hall. Zhao Yelan looked at the envoy, and the witch doctor who followed him, and had Housekeeper Qin make tea. He asked nervously: “Do the two of you really have a way?”

The hospital envoy had heard about the situation from Yao Muze and discussed the treatment with the witch doctor, so he said: “We can give it a try, let’s hurry up.”

“All right.” Zhao Yelan immediately urged Yan Mingting to bring the two old gentlemen to their room, and stood up by himself. But his legs and feet were so swollen that he couldn’t walk. In a dilemma, he was about to call Xiao Gao over, but Yan Mingting had already walked over and picked him up.

Never mind other people, there were still two unfamiliar doctors here. Zhao Yelan buried his face into the other’s chest as much as possible and said in a low voice: “Can you put me down?”

“I can’t.”

“Zhao-daren, don’t worry.” The envoy happily stroked his beard. “When we passed through Jiangnan, we had already heard stories about the two lords. I was surprised when I heard the news of you two getting married last year, and didn’t expect that you would be a match made in heaven.”

Zhao Yelan’s expression grew even more unnatural. He was unaccustomed to elders mentioning feelings in front of them. Fortunately, they had already reached the bedroom. Yan Mingting put him down, then sat on the bed and let the two doctors strip off his shirt to check his health.

The witch doctor was a man of few words, so he examined him carefully and said: “The poison has already spread. According to the time you were poisoned, it should not have spread so quickly. Do you often use internal force to suppress it?”

Yan Mingting subconsciously glanced at Zhao Yelan, then nodded.

Zhao Yelan immediately realized that this fellow was always suppressing it in order not to worry him, but this made the poison spread faster. He asked the doctor almost pleadingly: “Do you have a solution?”

“It’s hard to say.” Doctors usually didn’t give a definite answer when encountering serious injuries, especially this kind of serious poisoning where the risk was very high. The hospital envoy said: “We must cut the vein and drain the poison.”

Zhao Yelan’s face paled.

The two doctors prepared separately, and the envoy asked Yao Muze to watch and learn. Housekeeper Qin followed the doctors’ orders and went down to make preparations.

Zhao Yelan staggered to the side of the bed, took Yan Mingting’s other hand, and leaned down silently to lay on his chest.

“It’s okay, isn’t there hope now? You have faith in me, how could I be willing to leave you?” Yan Mingting stroked his head, comforting him softly.

The witch doctor prepared the antidote on the side, and brought out a bowl of medicine for him: “Drink this first.”

Everything was soon ready. The envoy came over with a sharp knife, placed a basin by the bed, and said: “Zhao-daren, why don’t you go out and wait?”

“Yes, you go out and wait,” Yan Mingting also said.

Zhao Yelan sat up and shook his head: “I’ll stay here. I definitely won’t disturb you.”

The envoy didn’t try to persuade him any more. If there was someone watching by the side, perhaps it could give Yan Mingting some encouragement. He said: “Then we will start.”

“En.” Yan Mingting stretched out his hand, and when he felt the cold blade against his thin skin, he raised his other hand to cover Zhao Yelan’s eyes.

Zhao Yelan took his hand away and clasped it in his own. When he looked over again, blood had already started to drip into the basin.

Time passed bit by bit. Zhao Yelan watched as his face became paler and paler until his lips were bloodless. He took the other’s hand in distress and kissed the back of it, distracting his attention, and said: “It’s almost your birthday, what gift do you want?”

“A gift, ah……to be able to celebrate your birthday with you this year is the best gift,” Yan Mingting said weakly.

Zhao Yelan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: “We’ll definitely be together, so you can say what you want.”

“Anything is fine?”

“En.”

“Then I have to think about it…….”

The witch doctor came over and their conversation was interrupted. He pressed the wrist, then applied the prepared ointment to the wound and said: “This contains Hecao, which is unique to Jiangnan, along with several other herbs that can stop blood poisoning.”

Zhao Yelan breathed a sigh of relief: “Is this the end?”

“No, it is just the first time,” the envoy said. “It must be cleared several times in the next two days, so be sure to take as much tonic as possible.”

“Many thanks,” Yan Mingting said with a pale face.

When the court envoy brought the basin out, Zhao Yelan glanced at, pursed his lips, and silently turned away.

Everyone let Yan Mingting rest for a while, then called him up to eat. Not long after eating, the second round of detoxification started.

It had to be cleared every three hours, even in the middle of the night. Zhao Yelan felt that his body temperature was getting lower, so he quickly embraced him to try to give him warmth.

After going on like this for two and a half days, Yan Mingting completely passed out. Zhao Yelan said in a panic: “He isn’t speaking to me anymore, what should be done? Can you wake him up?”

“This is the last step. It is very rare that he has survived until now,” the envoy sighed.

“En, he is very capable.” The witch doctor had also treated many people. Most of them would be delirious when they were detoxified for the first time, and the only person who could persist until now was the person in front of them.

Next, the two doctors and Yao Muze worked together to move Yan Mingting into a tub. After soaking in a medicinal bath for half an hour, the hospital envoy applied acupuncture again and then put him back on the bed, saying: “The poison in his body is almost cleared, and the next step is to wait for his good fortune. If he is able to wake up, his life is basically safe.”

“Many thanks.” Zhao Yelan hurried to get the banknotes and handed them to him, but was rejected.

“Since I’m treating General Yan, how can I accept these extraneous things?” The envoy said.

The witch doctor also forfeited it, saying: “General Yan put down the civil strife in Jiangnan. We Jiangnan people are grateful to him for coming.”

Zhao Yelan bowed to them solemnly: “Thanking the two doctors.”

“You should also rest earlier. You haven’t closed your eyes for two days and nights. He won’t be able to wake up anytime soon, so rest for a while.” After speaking, the hospital envoy left with the witch doctor and Yao Muze.

It was already late at night. Zhao Yelan hugged Yan Mingting and closed his eyes for a while, then suddenly awoke from a dream and subconsciously put his head on the other’s chest. He was relieved after hearing the sound of a heartbeat and kissed his lips in the dark, then fell back asleep.

As soon as it was daylight, he opened his eyes, and his legs and feet could barely move after two days of rest. He opened the door and called: “Are the kitchen things ready?”

“Ready, ready, I’ll bring it right away.” Housekeeper Qin brought over a bowl of porridge. The kitchen had been busy for the past two days. Food must be prepared at any time, but Yan Mingting was now in a coma, so he could only be fed some porridge.

After Zhao Yelan fed him the porridge, he stayed in the room and only came out during mealtime.

At night, there was still no sign of him waking up. He began to panic a little, and his face was full of worry.

The candles in the room were always lit, never going out. He whispered: “Do you want to hear a story? You used to tell me stories, so let me tell you one now. Don’t dislike me for being annoying.”

“What should I tell?”

“Let me tell you about Xiao Gao. Eunuch Gao is his uncle, his only family member. After Xiao Gao’s parents passed away, he came to the capital to join him. Eunuch Gao didn’t want him to enter the palace as a young eunuch, so he didn’t let Zhao Xuan know of his existence, but sent him to me.”

“I happened to be in need of another guard boy, and he was skilled but not too smart, just what I wanted, so I let him follow me.”

“He was young at that time and had never been deceived before, so I could scare him with a few words. When I said that those who betrayed me would be quartered by five horses, he was so frightened that he immediately swore that he would not betray me. I said that Yan Mingting was an old pig spirit, and he asked me if I could not marry one, but do you know who his second favorite person is now? You old pig spirit, he has been secretly wiping tears for these two days, why don’t you wake up and laugh at him?”

The person on the bed still showed no sign of waking up.

In the afternoon of the next day, Ruan Xian paid a sudden visit.

Housekeeper Qin came to the room to pass the message. Zhao Yelan didn’t want to leave the room at all, so he asked Housekeeper Qin to send him away.

Unexpectedly, Ruan Xian rushed into their bedroom without hesitation. He looked at Zhao Yelan, who was guarding the bed with a serious expression, and asked: “How is the General?”

“Just waiting for him to wake up,” Zhao Yelan said.

But Ruan Xian heard that the General had been in a coma for a long time, so he had to ask: “What is your plan?”

“What do you mean?” Zhao Yelan turned his head and looked at him blankly.

Ruan Xian took a few steps closer, and only then did he see the other’s emaciated appearance. Then he caught sight of Yan Mingting, who had lost half his life, laying in bed, and was momentarily at a loss for words. After a long time, he sighed deeply and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, saying: “This is your signed letter left in the Imperial Academy a few days ago. I happened to enter that room today and found it by accident.”

“What is it?” Zhao Yelan seemed to be unable to remember.

“Your final letter!” Ruan Xian couldn’t control his volume, and spread out the paper. “This clearly arranges your funeral, and even the rabbit was not left out. What are your plans?!”

Zhao Yelan stretched out his hand: “Give it back to me.”

Ruan Xian didn’t return it to him, but tore up the paper and said: “You’ve planned everything out, and if General Yan leaves, you will follow?”

“You are not allowed to talk nonsense! He will not leave!” Zhao Yelan got up and pushed him out, not noticing that the person on the bed moved his fingers slightly.

“Zhao-xiong! Zhao Yelan!” Ruan Xian shouted from outside. “Don’t do anything stupid, ah!”

Zhao Yelan had someone throw him out the gate, then he dragged his sore legs back to the bed, wiped his face and hands, and whispered: “I had a dream last night. I dreamt that the two of us were old and we were still playing snowball fights together. I couldn’t even run anymore, and you still insisted on dragging me out to run in the snow. My legs nearly fell off because of you……”

Not long after Ruan Xian left, Housekeeper Qin came to the room again to deliver a message: “My Lord, there are several girls outside the door who wish to see you.”

“Girls?”

“En.” Housekeeper Qin was a little embarrassed to speak, and said hesitantly: “Brothel girls, they all look pretty……”

Zhao Yelan estimated that it was Qingyan and the others. Now that Gu Niaoniao was in prison, business in the building had naturally stopped, and most of these girls were frightened.

He had promised Gu Niaoniao that he would settle these people down, so he thought for a moment and said: “I’ll go see them.”

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to get up, someone grabbed his wrist.

He turned his head in surprise and looked down at the person on the bed.

Yan Mingting slowly opened his eyes, and the corners of his mouth pulled up weakly. His voice was extremely hoarse and his eyes very aggrieved as he said slowly: “I, I just fell asleep, and you found girls from the brothel again, and brought them to the house. You’re such a lecher……”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Eighty-Eight <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Ninety

The group only rested under the trees for two hours. As soon as dawn touched the sky, they packed their bags again and prepared to continue on their way. Liang Shu hadn’t spoken since they left Xiaozhao Village until he asked Liu Xian’an presently: “Can you still hold on?”

Liu Xian’an nodded.

He didn’t want to delay the team’s marching speed, but the rest of the people at the scene knew in their hearts that this method of non-stop sleepless rushing was already very difficult for soldiers, not to mention a pampered son of Baihe Mountain Village. And the one in front of them was a famously lazy person who would normally lay down instead of sitting.

But Liu Xian’an was really not too tired. It may be because his medicinal diet was well taken care of in Baihe Mountain Village, or also because he had realized a bit of the heavenly dao and could use the spirit to affect the body. In short, while riding a horse, his whole person was pure and at peace, without desires, in a state of forgetting the inside and outside.

The red sun was scorching but didn’t know the heat, and the pure white ice and snow didn’t know the cold.

This made sense.

Liu Xian’an adjusted the saddle, and had just stepped onto Xuan Jiao when he felt a weight behind him. Liang Shu wrapped one arm around his waist and held the reins with the other to make it easier for him to lie against his chest, saying: “Rest like this for a while on the road.”

Xuan Jiao paced a few steps on the spot. It was born with extraordinary power and could break boulders with one hoof, so it didn’t find it difficult to carry two people. On the contrary, because its master was finally willing to give up the ugly brown horse, it was in a good mood and raised its head to give a series of snorts. Liu Xian’an was a little surprised. He turned around and was about to speak, but Liang Shu had already swung his whip. Like chasing the wind, they continued to move quickly forward into the distance.

A-Ning was left standing where he was. Although he also came from Baihe Mountain Village, he worked hard all year, after all, and could cut a cart of old bark in an afternoon without his hands shaking. His physical strength was enough to handle this journey. Gao Lin only ordered a few guards to keep an eye on the area, and continued to move forward according to the original plan.

Liu Xian’an was held in Liang Shu’s arms, his whole back warm and his fingers tucked into his sleeves. He had slept like this before when he went to Chixia City, so he had experience. Like being in another time and place, he was shielded from the cold mountain wind. Liu Xian’an closed his eyes and obediently took a nap.

Liang Shu leaned down slightly, and the tip of his nose lightly brushed the top of the other’s hair. He could also feel the body heat coming through his clothes, mixed with a faint medicinal fragrance, just enough to warm up the coldness in his bones.

. . . . . .

Going forward, the group encountered a few more soldiers of fortune who waved the banner of the garrison and went out to search for the fat and wealth of the people. Although they weren’t as bad as the beasts in Xiaozhao Village, for the common people, it was not much different from encountering a swarm of locusts. Lu Xiang had sent troops to suppress Huang Wangxiang’s rebels, but it was precisely because of Lu Xiang’s dispatch of troops at this time that more and more desperate and helpless people were pushed to the rebel army. Evil deeds had evil consequences, and with this cycle going on and on, how could the world not be chaotic?

There were three cities occupied by Huang Wangxiang, namely Qianqu, Qingyang, and Sanshui. For the Dayan army, there were no more than two methods of attack —

Gao Lin tapped on the map: “The first method is to attack Sanshui City directly, and capture the king first.” Rooting up the so-called ‘Royal Capital’ in one fell swoop, the two other cities would naturally lose heart, and it would be much easier to take advantage of the victory and pursue them.

“But before Sanshui City, there is still Qingyang City in the way,” another subordinate said. “Currently, Commander Lu has led the army to the Wangguan area. If we want to bypass Qingyang City and go straight to Sanshui City, we have to go this way.” As he spoke, he traced a meandering route on the map with his finger. “At least half a month’s journey will be added climbing up steep mountains.”

Liang Shu said: “Attack Qingyang City first.”

Gao Lin also thought they should attack Qingyang City first, but attacking this city would not be an easy battle. There were high mountains on both sides, with a solitary city in the middle. The army could only go for a frontal attack, and among all combat methods, this was undoubtedly the one with the most casualties – it was equivalent to using flesh and blood, at most adding a layer of armor, to rush head-on against the arrows, stones, and hot oil on the opposite side.

A-Ning was puzzled when he heard this, and asked his young master in a small voice, since it is so difficult, how did Huang Wangxing capture Qingyang City?

Liu Xian’an pressed a finger to his mouth. A-Ning quickly went silent, but Liang Shu had already heard, and looked up at Liu Xian’an: “You also heard the news on the way?”

“No,” Liu Xian’an said. “I guessed.”

A farmer who was compelled to live by hoisting a banner temporarily should not be able to form an excellent army in such a short period of time and enter Qingyang City from the outside. In that case, there was only one other possibility – Qingyang City was breached from the inside. In other words, it was very likely that people in the city spontaneously organized and cooperated with Huang Wangxing’s army inside and outside.

Liu Xian’an considered this matter, thinking that because of the floods, secrets leaked everywhere and the people’s hearts were in turmoil. He felt his head buzzing, and immediately wanted to fly a white crane into the quiet and carefree sky. And if even he himself was worried, how tired must His Royal Highness Xiao Wang be, ah, he who honestly wanted to rush about for the sake of the country. So he pressed the boy’s mouth tightly and told him not to speak, so as not to add worries on top of worries.

“With an unethical government, the people cannot be blamed for trying to survive.” Liang Shu turned and continued to look at the map, trying to choose the best attack route. The night was already very deep at this time, but no one at the scene felt sleepy. The bonfire silently illuminated the century-old temple. The oil paintings on the surrounding walls had long become mottled and peeled, and only blurred images remained. Vajra glowered and Bodhisattva lowered his eyebrows.

Liang Shu and Gao Lin deliberated for a long time before deciding on a final plan. Seeing that they had finished discussing, Liu Xian’an interrupted: “In fact, if you can find fifty to eighty elite soldiers, set off from here.” He picked up a small flag and planted it on the top of the peak west of the city. “Have them climb the tower first and subdue the first wave of rebels, then create chaos in the shortest possible time and open the city gate. In this way, the casualties of the army will be much fewer.”

“It is definitely best to be able to climb the tower, but the question is how.” Gao Lin gestured the distance from the mountain peak to the city gate and casually joked, “Fly over?”

“En.” Liu Xian’an nodded. “Fly over.”

As soon as that remark was made, everyone at the scene fell silent, wondering if Second Young Master Liu was sleepy again and started talking nonsense. Only Liang Shu asked: “You have a solution?”

Liu Xian’an explained: “I once read a dilapidated ancient book called “Sky Work Record,” which recorded many methods of making flying wings, among which there was a small flying wing called the “Mute Condor.” It is not complicated to make, and the wood, fabric, and leather needed are not difficult to find in this area. If the army can finish constructing a batch in September, they can be used to attack the city on the third day of October.”

“Flying wings, ah. We built something similar when we were in the norwest. It really works,” Gao Lin said. “But they can only be used short distances and at low altitudes. This kind of flying from a high and dangerous peak to a distant city……honestly, it doesn’t seem very realistic.”

“That’s why we choose the third day of October. It will be very windy that day,” Liu Xian’an said. “The direction of the wind is in our favor, so we can get twice the result with half the effort.”

“Only relying on the wind to control the direction?”

“There is a steering wheel on the Mute Condor.” Liu Xian’an felt that it was too troublesome to explain, so he simply said, “Why don’t I draw a blueprint first.”

Gao Lin still found it unbelievable, and wanted to ask what kind of divine book “Sky Work Record” was and whether it was reliable or not. Liang Shu waved his sleeve to block him. The guards brought over a worn-down shrine to serve as a table, and took out candles to light them. Liu Xian’an sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, picked up a brush, and quickly outlined the flying wing prototype.

Halfway through the drawing, a gust of wind entered, making the light and shadows jump. Liu Xian’an was about to set down his brush and move the candle, but Liang Shu had already stretched out his hand to protect the weak candle flame for him.

Gao Lin craned his neck to watch. Although he already knew that Second Young Master Liu was hiding something and was in the field of medicine, he had never heard the story of being forty-eight thousand years old and the thousands of volumes of books, so his shock at this moment was no less than beholding a god. How could there be such a person who knew both geography and stratagems and, like a military advisor, could accurately tell what kind of wind would blow in Qingyang City on the third day of October? Hadn’t he never traveled far?

Liu Xian’an handed the finished drawing to Liang Shu, yawning profusely.

“Go to sleep, ba.” Liang Shu straightened his crooked collar. “I’ll take a look first. If there is anything I don’t understand, I’ll ask tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” Liu Xian’an’s eyes were tired. “The prince should also rest earlier.”

After speaking, he lay back on the straw bed and fell asleep faster than fainting. A-Ning was not surprised by this, and quickly brought over a basin of water, twisting a wet handkerchief to wipe his face and hands. He helped him up again and shouted loudly: “Young Master, rinse your mouth!”

Liu Xian’an took the toothbrush as if sleepwalking, brushed very skillfully, and then fell down afterward, all without opening his eyes.

Gao Lin was very envious when he saw this. If only he could share half his speed at falling asleep, or share ten percent with the prince who suffered from insomnia all year round, ah. Truly, a drought kills, but a flood kills too.

Liang Shu examined the blueprints for most of the night, and didn’t close his eyes until dawn to take a short rest. When Liu Xian’an awoke, the whole team had already set off first. Even A-Ning was not there, and only His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was standing guard by the embers of the fire. Thus his first reaction was, did I sleep so hard that a thunderbolt or thieves couldn’t wake me up?

Seeing that he only opened his eyes but did not speak, Liang Shu stretched out a hand and tapped on his forehead: “Come out.”

“Already out.” Liu Xian’an returned to his senses. “Where are the others?”

“Let’s go first, Xuan Jiao has fast feet, it won’t be a problem to catch up to them,” Liang Shu said. “I saw that you were sleeping soundly and couldn’t bear to disturb you. It doesn’t matter if we leave later.”

As for how sweetly,^[1] his body was curled up sideways, the sound of his breathing soft. His eyelashes drooped and cast a crescent-shaped shadow beneath his eyes, and his red lips were a little moist. When touched with a finger, it was like touching the nose of a kitten in the royal gardens.

Thus, all others were driven out of the temple by His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

Liu Xian’an didn’t dream at all. He stretched vigorously and got up to wring out a handkerchief and wash his face, asking: “That blueprint —”

“I read it and understood,” Liang Shu said. “We’ll make a batch and try it out first.”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “Okay.”

After that “okay,” he proceeded to rinse his mouth silently, calm and unflustered, without a word of unnecessary nonsense. It really served as a foil for Lieutenant General Gao’s unsophistication – in the morning, the man had stared with two big, surprised eyes and repeated almost a dozen times, “Do you really understand or are you faking it?” and another dozen times, “How can the prince understand this delicate work?” He was like a noisy fool. If not for the urgent need for manpower due to the military’s situation, this person might have been dispatched by His Royal Highness Xiao Wang to dig coal in Jinzhou.

The group of people traveled day and night, and finally caught up with Lu Xiang’s large army at dusk one day.

Xuan Jiao stopped on a boulder on top of the mountain. 

Liang Shu tightened the reins. Liu Xian’an awoke from his dreams and looked down in a daze with him. Under mist and clouds, a huge contingent wound forward through the mountains. Although they had seen all of Lu Xiang’s “great achievements” along the way, there was nothing wrong with the contingent itself. They were lined up neatly, and their speed is not slow. 

“A rotten ship still has three catties of nails, and it cannot be said that the majority of the army is trash. Lu Xiang more or less has to be worried about the emperor,” Liang Shu said. “As for those jackals we met along the way, the reason why everyone ate so robustly was because nine and a half out of ten of them had backing and connections. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to scoop up the cushy job of collecting army rations.”

It was only that this time, the target was squarely hit. They were all picked up in a bunch, and the good times came to an end.

Down the mountain, Lu Xiang asked: “How far is the distance to Sanshui City?”

“Answering the commander, it will take another month and a half,” the adjutant said. “If we speed up —”

“What speed up, it’s fast enough now.” Lu Xiang wiped the sweat from his forehead. “What if we get to Sanshui City and the prince hasn’t arrived yet, wouldn’t this battle require you and me to fight it ourselves? So the journey must be rushed, but not too rushed, do you understand?”

“Yes, understood.” The adjutant tried again, “But at the moment, there is one more thing. Few of the teams sent to seize rations have returned, and those who came back didn’t bring much food. Do we need to send more people to expand the scope of collection?”

“Did they really seize rations, or did they just not bring them all back?” Lu Xiang looked to the side. “Why, which of your relatives is seeking a job?”

The adjutant’s scheme was pointed out, so he could only chuckle and smile. Lu Xiang usually didn’t care about these trivial matters, but today perhaps he was tired from the journey, or impatient because he knew the prince was coming. In short, he suddenly cared about it and scolded: “You brat, how much did you take this opportunity to eat? Even eight generations of relatives have to be stuffed into the fort, but that’s still not enough?”

“No, no, that’s really not it.” The adjutant hurriedly admitted his mistake, and Lu Xiang reprimanded him again. After venting the anger in his heart, he was about to move on, but the result was that an outrider came to report that the road ahead was blocked.

Lu Xiang hurriedly asked: “The rebel army?”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” the outrider said. “There are only about twenty people.”

“What damned bastards dare to stop the army?” Lu Xiang breathed a sigh of relief, but the adjutant was a little nervous, wondering if some poor people had been levied for food and were indignant, so they came here to cast blame! Therefore, the adjutant volunteered to lead others to investigate.

Liu Xian’an looked at the small contingent galloping through the white mist and said: “That doesn’t seem to be Lu Xiang.”

Liang Shu asked: “You can also calculate this?”

“It’s not calculation, it’s the clothes,” Liu Xian’an explained. “You can also look at their appearance.”

Robust and prosperous, with glossy faces, they looked exactly the same as those soldiers who were collecting rations. The design couldn’t be printed more neatly.

---

[1] The word 香甜 can mean “sleeping soundly” or “sweet.” ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Thirty-Seven << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Nine

“…….”

An uneasy silence spread around.

The attendant felt cold sweat dripping from his forehead, and even breathing became difficult under the influence of his unconscious fear. “Little Young Master Pei, I am just a mere waiter helping to run errands. This is r-really none of my business!”

“But you’ve gotten into trouble now.” Pei Yi narrowed his eyes, and said one word at a time, “Speak clearly!”

The attendant knew that he couldn’t afford to offend any wealthy guest, so after struggling with his thoughts several times, he still confessed everything. “It wasn’t the Second Young Master, but Mr. Pei who told me to bring you here.”

“He told me to watch in a corner of the banquet hall, and when you were alone, to go to you in the name of Second Young Master Bo and coax you to the guest room upstairs.

Pei Yi scoffed inaudibly.

Pei Huan?

Sure enough, he was connected to this business!

It was likely that he had discussed it with Bo Guancheng, and as for Minister Zheng who came later, he should have become a pawn who was “used” without knowing it.

Pei Yi’s grip relaxed a little, and he continued to ask, “Who is in the guest room?”

The attendant swallowed his saliva nervously and became more forthcoming, “It, it should be the chairman who was by his side.”

Half an hour ago, when he was called to the VIP lounge by Pei Huan, the chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce named Sun Yelong was sitting on the sofa. His eyes were full of malice and anticipation, and he took out a room card and tossed it to him.

Although the attendant was not very old, he was accustomed to seeing all kinds of guests in the hotel—

Have him take Pei Yi to the hotel room alone? The sinister intentions in this were self-evident!

The attendant’s first reaction was to refuse, but he was quickly intimidated by Pei Huan.

“If you don’t do this, there will be others willing to do it.”

“Either you do it obediently and receive a reward of five thousand yuan after the task is completed, or you can wait for the hotel manager to fire you personally.”

Under the double pressure of work and money, that shallow bit of conscience struggled and disappeared.

Pei Yi’s face had darkened completely.

In addition to the disgusting pimp-like activities of Pei Huan and others, he also thought of the brief description in the original text — after the original owner participated in the banquet, he became more and more withdrawn and began to hide in the room all day, unwilling to go out.

The storyline of the book was written around the protagonist, Pei Huan, but who could guarantee what happened to other people during that time period outside the text?

“…….”

The waiter felt the low air pressure coming from behind, and regretted until his intestines were green. “Little Young Master, just let me go this time! I don’t have a good education, and the salary at this hotel is the best. My dad was sick and hospitalized some time ago, and I haven’t even paid for the surgery……”

“If I didn’t agree, I would have lost my job!”

“Stop selling misery here!”

Pei Yi did not accept his rhetoric. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you were secretly happy to take the money right now! Or did you think that if something happened to me, you wouldn’t need to take legal responsibility?”

“Did it never occur to you that you are the scapegoat who will be pushed forward by them if something happens?”

“…….”

The waiter got stuck, and his cheeks changed from red to white.

After Pei Yi’s reminder, he realized that he was basically being used by Pei Huan and others!

Pei Yi couldn’t be bothered with the attendant’s feelings, and simply pushed him away after removing his name tag. The attendant’s center of gravity was unstable, and he fell on the stairs above. Before the pain could even show on his face, Pei Yi read out the name tag, “Zhao Wancheng?”

“Just as Pei Huan did, I will give you two choices now.”

“W-what?”

Zhao Wancheng turned around to meet Pei Yi’s sharp eyes, and his heart skipped a beat.

“Option one: you can continue to choose to stand on Pei Huan’s side and wait for this matter to blow up, and they will push you out as a scapegoat.”

“Option two: you listen to me. I’m not sure if you can keep this job, but I can at least promise not to send you to the police station.”

After all, the attendant was at best an accomplice who did not complete the “work.” There was someone else who should settle accounts.

The attendant looked into Pei Yi’s eyes that were cold even as he smiled, and that expression and deep aura were completely the opposite of his “fair and soft” face.

The person instinctively succumbed to a more powerful superior and a better choice, not to mention that it was clear at a glance what was wrong and what was right.

The waiter suppressed his initial fear. “I choose option two.”

“Very good.”

Pei Yi took no notice of the attendant’s easy defection, and made arrangements, gesturing to him. “Which room is Chairman Sun staying in? Lend me your cell phone.”

At this point, the attendant didn’t dare go against Pei Yi’s arrangements.

He honestly took out his cell phone and unlocked it, and also handed over the room card in his pocket along with it. “2108.”

Pei Yi only took the cell phone and sent a “Help” text message in the tone of the attendant, “You keep the room card. The time starts from the moment I enter the room. If I don’t come out within ten minutes, you use it to open the door, and if I come out or someone else comes in, you can go.”

Pei Yi pressed the phone back into the attendant’s hand, saying lightly, “Of course, if you can’t figure it out, you can choose to escape now.”

The attendant subconsciously tightened his grip on the phone and shook his head vigorously. “I, I’ll listen to you, Little Young Master!”

Pei Yi smiled and warned, “By the way, no third person should know about this conversation between you and me. There is no surveillance here, and I’m not smart, understood?”

The last sentence was more like a kind of self-indulgence.

The waiter was stunned for several seconds, then hastily responded, “Understood.”

He didn’t dare to get involved in the grievances and resentments of these rich and powerful people anymore!

No matter why Pei Yi was pretending to be a fool, it was not his place to ask or spread it. If the other party turned his face and became hostile, he would be the one to suffer in the end.

En, sometimes it was also rather good to be transparent and mute!

. . . . . .

Inside hotel suite 2108.

After showering, Sun Yelong came out of the bathroom and immediately reached into the inner pocket of his suit. Shortly, he took out a small white box from inside and twisted the lid off, taking out three small pills.

These were his pick-me-up treasures.

Sun Yelong swallowed two pills with water first, and then tossed one into the red wine beside him. After a while, the white pill melted and disappeared into the dark red wine.

Thinking of the prey that was about to arrive, Sun Yelong rubbed his hands excitedly.

He was a person who most liked to play with tenderness, and did not shun women nor men.

And it was best for them to be the type that looked like an innocent white rabbit. Once toyed with hard, their eyes would turn red and start to cry, not to mention how exciting it was!

As soon as he entered the banquet hall today, his attention was drawn by Pei Yi.

Good-looking and clean, innocent and pure, he looked at first glance like a young fledgling who had never experienced this sort of thing, and immediately made him get bad ideas!

So what if the other party was a fool? Maybe he would be better to coax and deal with!

As for the troubles that may arise afterwards, that was for Pei Huan and Bo Guancheng to deal with. After all, there was a big contract worth 1.5 billion involved, and the important thing was to make him happy.

His chest was hot and buoyant.

Sun Yelong glanced at the time on the phone and frowned, muttering, “Why hasn’t he come? Could something have gone wrong?”

As soon as he spoke, there was a light knock on the door.

Sun Yelong quickly came to his senses. “Come in.”

The door opened. 

Pei Yi stood alone at the door of the room. Seeing his not-so-familiar old face, his already dazed eyes became even more confused. “Huh?”

Sun Yelong was overjoyed. Then he scanned the two ends of the corridor and found no one else, feeling that something was wrong. “Little Young Master Pei, you’re alone?”

What about the waiter he met earlier?

There wouldn’t be any problems midway, right?

Pei Yi ignored his question, and only lowered his head while taking half a step back in fear. “Where is Er-ge? I’m looking for Er-ge.”

“Er-ge?”

Sun Yelong reacted quickly. “Oh, Second Young Master Bo just left the room and will be right back.”

As he spoke, he scanned Pei Yi greedily.

From the other party’s soft lips, to that superior neck, to the fair skin hidden beneath the suit, everything made him want to move!

The medicine he just swallowed seemed to be working.

Sun Yelong took an eager step forward and tried to reach out to pull Pei Yi. “Come, Little Young Master, come in with me first to wait!”

Pei Yi dodged his ugly, fat hand and hesitated for a moment, as if cowering. “Er-ge, not here, won’t go in.”

Sun Yelong coaxed with a smile on his face, “Second Young Master Bo will be back soon! If you don’t believe me, I’ll call him as soon as we’re in the room!”

“……”

Pei Yi raised his eyes and looked at Sun Yelong cautiously.

It wasn’t until the other party put on a thick-skinned face and tried harder to please him with a smile that he responded softly, “Okay.”

As he said that, he avoided contact with Sun Yelong and walked in.

At the moment they brushed shoulders, the timidity and ignorance in Pei Yi’s eyes quickly receded. He quickly scanned the layout of the suite until he heard the sound of the door closing behind him with a ‘click,’ and then returned to the appearance of a little milk cat.

“Call Er-ge.”

Sun Yelong heard this urging and objected from the bottom of his heart.

He kept his nice guy mask and walked to the tea bar in the small living room. After picking up his phone, he looked surprised. “Aiyo, look at my brain. The phone is out of battery and turned off.”

“…….”

“I’ll charge it up and make a call as soon as it turns on.”

Sun Yelong pretended to charge the cell phone, then picked up the red wine that he had prepared earlier. “Little Young Master, are you thirsty? Sit down and have a little drink?”

Pei Yi stared at the glass of red wine, suppressed the disdain in his heart, and shook his head.

This Sun Yelong looked like a man with many tricks. Maybe he would add some messy things to the wine to make him submissive and obedient.

“Er-ge won’t let me drink.”

“This is juice.”

Sun Yelong’s lies just kept coming.

He stuffed the wine glass into Pei Yi’s hand and took the opportunity to touch his fingers. Smooth, delicate, like they were half soaked in milk. It seemed that you could taste that sweet flavor with one bite.

Pei Yi retracted his hand instantly, disgusted. “Don’t touch me!”

But this brief touch was like a primer, igniting Sun Yelong’s long-standing dirty thoughts. He saw Pei Yi’s resistance and became increasingly excited. 

“Little Young Master, don’t be afraid, ah! How boring is it to just wait, ah?” Sun Yelong squinted his eyes, rubbed his hands, and went to touch the little face of the person in front of him. “How about we play a game? It feels very good.”

—Splash!

Pei Yi flung the glass of wine into his face, and then took the opportunity to quickly retreat to a corner.

“…….”

The slightly cold wine entered Sun Yelong’s eyes and nose, choking his thoughts to a standstill for two seconds.

“Yo, you still have a little temper?”

Sun Yelong wiped the alcohol off his face, looked at Pei Yi hiding in a corner, and the anger in his body danced wildly. He swallowed a large amount of saliva secreted in his excitement. “If you won’t drink it, you won’t drink it, ba. Think I can’t handle an inexperienced little brat like you?”

The effects of those two pills had fully begun.

Hot sweat oozed from Sun Yelong’s forehead, and an unnatural blush appeared on his cheeks. His whole body looked greasy. As he walked, he untied the belt of his bathrobe as if wanting to show his majesty.

“Pei Yi, right? Let me see where else you can hide.”

Sun Yelong approached Pei Yi, who had no way to retreat, with unconcealed confidence and arrogance on his face. “What’s the use of being stubborn now? When you get in bed later, you still have to……”

Pei Yi couldn’t endure it anymore. He picked up the iron figurine placed in the recessed wall next to him and slammed it hard onto Sun Yelong’s head. “Scram!”

—Bang!

Sun Yelong only felt the heat suddenly rush to his head, and the blood in his whole body seemed to coagulate. He could only let the severe pain drive him to fall backwards and crash to the ground.

Pei Yi looked at Sun Yelan’s bloodied head with a touch of insouciance at the ends of his eyes. “Trash like you wants to make a pass at me?”

From the moment he entered the room, he was already on guard and observing the layout.

In this corner, there were tools suitable for picking up and smashing people in self-defense, and it was also the easiest place to create a “no escape” trap to make Sun Yelong relax his vigilance.

“…….”

Sun Yelong’s head was buzzing, and he couldn’t hear what Pei Yi said at all. He reacted a few beats later and covered his bleeding head, and only then did he realize that the other party had hurt him!

He wanted to have fun but failed, and actually got wounded in action?

He had lived most of his life, and no one had ever dared to treat him like this!

A kind of frustrated fury emanated from Sun Yelong due to the enormous pain. With strength that was perhaps from the effects of the medicine, he forced himself to stand up, furiously wanting to teach the disobedient Pei Yi a lesson.

Pei Yi had already anticipated his movements, and decisively kicked him.

“—Ah!”

There was a short, hoarse shout of pain.

Looking at Sun Yelong lying on the ground, Pei Yi just walked neatly around him, not intending to remain in the same room with this trash.

Before he could get near to the closed door, there was a rush of footsteps outside.

Beep-beep.

There was the sound of an electronic lock.

The person waiting outside the room seemed to be in a hurry, and kicked hard.

—Bang!

Pei Yi was startled by the loud crash against the door.

He looked up in surprise, and his field of vision was completely occupied by several figures outside the room.

“…….”

“…….” In addition to Uncle Kai and Bo Yueming, there was also a very tall man with short-cropped hair standing at the door of the room.

The other’s sharp, narrow eyes were glowering with malice at this moment, and there was also a thin scar at the corner of his eye, which made him look dangerous and oppressive.

Different from Bo Yueming’s noble and proud aura, Pei Yi felt that the short-cropped young man was more like a sharp weapon honed in a sea of swords and blood.

He and Bo Yueming occupied the positions at the door, one on the left and the other on the right. The cold aura emanating from the two at the same time scared the hotel manager who had opened the door with his head down like a quail, and he was so frightened that he didn’t even dare to breathe.

“Pei Yi!”

“Xiao Yi!”

Bo Yueming and the short-cropped man shouted simultaneously.

Pei Yi broke free from his astonished scrutiny and realized that he had forgotten to manage his expression just now! He quickly averted his gaze and started to prepare the right mood. “I, I didn’t……”

Before he could finish quibbling, the short-cropped man approached him on long legs, enveloping him within his range of protection. “Is there any injury?”

“…….”

Pei Yi looked at the man who was practically holding him in his arms, and along with what he had called Pei Yi, the identity of the other party was immediately confirmed—

Qin Yishun.

An important male supporting role in the original text.

The old Pei couple had ‘one daughter and two sons’ under their knees. Qin Yishun was born to the eldest daughter, Pei Lin, and was also the grandson of Old Father Pei. In terms of seniority, he was the older cousin of the original owner.

Bo Yueming felt the momentum of the person beside him rushing into the room, and his gaze froze.

For some reason, the frustration due to his inconvenient eyes, which hadn’t appeared for a long time, surged up again. However, he quickly suppressed his emotions and walked in. “Pei Yi.”

Uncle Kai beside him was also worried. “Little Sir, what is going on? Don’t be afraid, speak slowly. We will handle everything for you.”

Just six or seven minutes ago, Uncle Kai suddenly received a text message from an unfamiliar number, saying that Pei Huan called someone to take Pei Yi to room 2108, and there might be danger.

After learning this, Uncle Kai immediately informed Bo Yueming. The latter realized the danger and left Minister Zheng with a disregard for etiquette for the first time, and rushed over immediately.

As for Qin Yishun, they met by accident in the elevator hall.

The other party should have come to find Pei Yi after sniffing out the news today. Hearing that the latter might have had an accident, they went upstairs together.

Sun Yelong, who had fallen to the ground, was still cursing and crying out in pain intermittently.

Pei Yi knew that he couldn’t avoid being investigated afterwards, so he took the opportunity to perform. He threw the bloody iron figurine to the ground fearfully, and within a few seconds, grievances welled up in his eyes.

“He, he made me play games with him.”

Pei Yi said the words “play games” extremely innocently, when they fell into the ears of Bo Yueming, Qin Yishun, and the others, they clearly understood another deeper meaning.

What games?

Sun Yelong, that wicked old bastard!

Bo Yueming’s eyes hidden under his glasses promptly became colder, and Qin Yishun’s face turned ashen at once.

Pei Yi knew that they were all clever people, so he simply added, “I don’t know him, I don’t want to play, I’m s-scared.”

Bo Yueming took the lead this time. “Pei Yi, come here.”

Pei Yi covertly glanced at Qin Yishun, whom he was “meeting for the first time,” but chose to hide beside the more familiar Bo Yueming. “Er-ge.”

It was still that soft voice, sounding like a kitten seeking shelter. Bo Yueming sensed Pei Yi’s dependence and nearness, and the coldness in his expression disappeared together with the suppressed frustration in his heart. He raised his hand according to the height he remembered, and gently squeezed the nape of Pei Yi’s neck. “Don’t be afraid.”

“Wu.”

Pei Yi shrank his neck sensitively and let out a nasal hum.

Qin Yishun at the side saw his cousin leave him and get close to Bo Yueming. A hint of subtle sourness emerged on his already livid complexion, but he was afraid of scaring Pei Yi, so he chose to maintain, “You did nothing wrong.”

As he spoke, he bent down and picked up the iron figurine, then solemnly lied through his teeth.

“I struck this person, it has nothing to do with you.”

“…….”

Pei Yi was taken aback for a moment, and sighed inwardly.

No wonder the original text used ‘double-standard protective madman’ to describe Qin Yishun. This fact was even more exaggerated than the description in the book, ah!

Uncle Kai glanced at Sun Yelong, who was lying on the ground in disgrace, and said with disgust and lingering fear, “Second Young Master, this Sun Yelong should have been invited by Bo Guancheng. After entering the banquet hall, he stayed with Young Mr. Pei the whole time. This matter must have something to do with them!”

“Young Mister Pei?”

Qin Yishun reacted slightly with a frown. “Is that Pei Huan?”

As soon as he spoke, Sun Yelan struggled to get up behind him and stared at the group of them. “Who allowed you to break in without authorization? Hotel manager! S-security!”

The hotel manager who was huddled by the door was in a cold sweat.

He knew Sun Yelong’s identity, and also understood that he couldn’t afford to offend Bo Yueming and the others, so he opened the door with one hand and tipped off Pei Huan and Bo Guancheng with the other. Unfortunately, the latter two didn’t come after a long time.

Sun Yelong covered his bleeding forehead with one hand, pointing at Pei Yi with the other and scolding, “You still haven’t gotten out!”

His bathrobe was loose on him, his cheeks and neck were flushed the color of pig liver, and his oily head and belly were as ugly as could be.

Hearing Sun Yelong’s clamoring, Bo Yueming couldn’t help but protect Pei Yi behind him. 

Qin Yishun took two steps closer to Sun Yelong and examined him from top to bottom with a terrifying gaze. He saw that the other party was still unsightly due to the medicine, and a burst of ruthlessness broke over his face.

He simply twisted the wrist of Sun Yelong’s pointing hand, turned him around, and then raised his foot and kicked him in the lower back. The entire series of movements contained no superfluous gimmicks, and it was just like he was handling a small chicken.

Sun Yelong was kicked rather far by him, and by coincidence, he bumped into the corner of a table that was about half his height.

“—Ah!”

The pig-like squeal echoed through the suite.

Sun Yelong’s liver-colored face paled in an instant, and he completely fainted to the ground.

Pei Huan, who had come over after hearing the news, heard the scream and felt that something was wrong. He quickly entered the door, but before he had time to check the situation, he was shocked to a standstill by the scene before him—

Bo Yueming and Qin Yishun were protecting Pei Yi on the right and left, their faces turning cold one by one.

Pei Yi, who was protected in the middle, seemed completely unaware of the oppression on both sides. The flush at the corners of his eyes had not dissipated, and he greeted him with a soft smile.

“Cousin is here too~”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Twenty-Two <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Four

Bo Guancheng came and went, and other than making people feel disgusted, it really didn’t have any effect on morale.

Bo Yueming and Assistant Lin Zhong entered the study on the first floor, presumably to discuss work matters. Uncle Kai unpacked the luggage properly and went to the kitchen to supervise the servants preparing dinner.

Pei Yi was by himself with nothing to do, so he brought Inspector back to the room, locked the door, and turned on the computer.

As soon as he logged on to the “Youtu” forum, tens of thousands of notifications popped up. Pei Yi was a little surprised, and immediately checked his background data—

The two game concepts uploaded a week ago had gained 50,000+ popularity. Pei Yi’s newly created vest,^[1] “Will,” had also attracted the attention of thousands of gaming fans.

His personal private messages were filled with large and small game companies, studios, and even individual game bloggers.

“Youtu” was the largest game forum website in China, and the fermented heat was far better than Pei Yi had imagined. Of course, Pei Yi attributed all of this to his own game creation.

The two single-player games he had constructed this time had completely different styles.

The first title was “Cheerful Spirit.” It was a decryption game with different national styles and spirits. The content of each dungeon instance was different, and single players must find the answers and exits within a specified amount of time.

In each dungeon, there would be a certain Chinese instrument, and at the specific point in time when the instrument sounded, different spiritual crises would be triggered, which may lead to the failure of breaking through the level.

Of course, as one of the highlights of this game, the background music needed to be written carefully for each time the instruments sounded. Each trilling sound must be engraved into the player’s bones and blood, making their hair stand on end when they heard it.

The second one was called “Cloud Realm,” which was a therapeutic collection game, more suitable for working people during their commutes. Players only needed to record the clouds in real life, and then use the selected avatar to upload daily.

Different cloud formations and even atmospheric phenomena would correspond to different integrals, and uploading could also get the corresponding cloud painting card, or even a customized chibi version. Of course, player leaderboards were essential.

The current popularity was exciting, and from the data of the two games, the popularity of “Cheerful Spirit” was higher.

However, the imitability of mini-games was too strong, and it would not be easy for such a creative version to receive higher bids the longer it was delayed.

Considering the timing, Pei Yi looked at the parties who were interested in cooperating one by one – finally, two reliable parties with high bids were chosen to sign with online.

Pei Yi sold “Cloud Realm” at full price and sent it to a new small studio, and as for “Cheerful Spirit,” he chose a reliable older game company.

Pei Yi and the latter Party A stipulated that he would provide the script for the first ten levels of “Cheerful Spirit,” divided into two handovers before and after. Then the other company would process the coding, the menu, and so on, and a signature was required for the copy to go online.

The most important thing for such a mystery-oriented mini-game was content creativity.

The game “Cheerful Spirit” had been successfully tested in the real world. Before Pei Yi transmigrated, there were nearly twenty levels to it, all of which were constructed by Pei Yi.

With just ten levels, Pei Yi could completely copy his previous ideas, which was not difficult. For him, the most important thing was to rely on this established company to open up his popularity in the circle.

It took nearly two and a half hours to complete the online signing of these two mini-games.

Pei Yi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the deposit approval process that was already running in the background. But he didn’t stop there. He found a familiar ID in the private message interface – Pear Garden [pear logo].

The other party was the first person who sent a private message to seek cooperation after the game was uploaded.

Pei Yi looked at the green “online” dot on Pear Garden’s profile picture, clicked on his personal homepage, and browsed it quickly. Then he clicked on the Baidu search engine and swiftly entered a few keywords to investigate.

It didn’t take long before he understood clearly.

When Pei Yi returned to the private message page of Youtu, that “Pear Garden” had already sent him a message a minute ago as if he had read his mind: “Hello, the game copyright of “Cloud Realm” has been sold?”

“You really took the initiative to come to the door?”

Pei Yi chuckled, eyebrows raised as he typed, “How did you know?”

“There was a notification.”

Pear Garden sent a screenshot. On the game display interface of Pei Yi’s homepage, both games had been stamped with the words “Partnered for Sale.”

Pear Garden on the other side of the screen asked again, “If I’m not wrong, I should have been the first person to send you a cooperation message. May I ask why you don’t want to cooperate with me?”

Pei Yi stared at the message from Pear Garden and replied without hesitation, “Dawn Games, Mr. Li Yuan? It’s you, right?”

The ‘typing’ on the other side vanished in an instant, and such a pause confirmed Pei Yi’s question.

In fact, the last time when they met by chance in a coffee shop, this speculation had already passed through his mind—

Pear Garden, Li Yuan.^[2] He really couldn’t hide the name of his vest at all. It was even worse than him, who was a naming waste.

After waiting for a while, Li Yuan, who had his vest exposed, admitted, “Yes, how did you guess?”

Pei Yi explained, “It was very simple. The cooperation assessments on your profile are not hidden. I clicked on the homepages of those partners to confirm the game type, then found the same type on the official ‘Dawn Games’ website and confirmed them after a bit of comparison.”

Li Yuan was silent for a few more seconds, then asked with some stubbornness, “So, Mr. Will, you feel that the current condition and ability of ‘Dawn’ is incapable of perfecting your game settings, so you worried about selling the copyright to me?”

Pei Yi narrowed his eyes in surprise, but could understand the reasons for his lack of confidence.

In the plot of the original novel, before the “true and false” young masters being switched at birth was revealed, Li Yuan announced the complete closure of Dawn Games because of the lack of investment and a quarterly deficit.

Upon estimating the time, that should happen within three months.

At this moment, Li Yuan was like a fish struggling on the shore, its scales worn to the point of being bloodstained, and in the end, it could not return to the glorious sea with the dawn.

Pei Yi sighed and replied, “I just thought that such a small stand-alone game is only suitable for companies that are in a long-term profitable state to increase their income in the short term, not for “Dawn,” which has been on the verge of bankruptcy for a long time.”

Pei Yi had browsed “Dawn’s” public data. In the past two years, it had relied on the popularity of small games to maintain short-term profits, and once they encountered a small game investment failure, or the game fell out of popularity too soon, they would certainly be at a deficit.

“Mr. Li, the current “Dawn Games” is more like an empty shell, and lacks opportunities for internal growth. If you want stable, long-term profitability, at least one trump card project in the gaming circle is needed.”

Just like the three well-known game companies now, which one did not have its own sustainable development of large-scale games? As for the other mini-games, they could be regarded as icing on the cake at best.

“Mr. Will is right.” Li Yuan’s reply was full of helplessness. “A good game project, where is it so easy to have?” Project idea, investment, design, technical staff……all were indispensable. It wasn’t that Li Yuan didn’t think about such things, but the first two items were enough to keep him stuck.

Pei Yi clicked on the file transfer and sent a document named “The Last Fog 1.0,” clearly expressing his attitude.

“Mr. Li, although the two mini-games I just sold were carefully constructed by me, they were not a major project for me like this one.”

“You take a look. Are you interested in working with me?”

The brief lines of information on the screen caused Li Yuan to unconsciously straighten up. He tied a wolf tail on the back of his head indiscriminately and opened the file from Will with a little nervousness.

The nearly ten thousand character text setting of the game foundation made Li Yuan’s breathing stall. “The Last Fog 1.0” was a doomsday escape-oriented game, and the plot concept was as followed —

In the year 3033, dozens of countries on earth were simultaneously hit by unknown meteorites, and the ensuing breakout of viruses and fog instantly dyed the earth into a hellscape.

From insect mutation to animal infection, and then to human transmission, everyone was caught off guard and helpless.

Due to the heavy losses, countries had to jointly launch emergency measures, from the underground cities built by digging deep, to protective ships in the deep sea and sky castles made of special steel.

These limited the scope of activities for able-bodied human beings and became the only bases that humans could protect.

As for the previous residential buildings, they had long since been abandoned to the point of being uninhabitable.

The amnesiac “protagonist” wakes up in an abandoned residential building with only a few tools (cards) left in his backpack. In addition, there is a an unsigned mission sheet—

“Please arrive at Chinese Underground City No. 1 on June 16.”

Ten days in an unknown end-times environment, with lost memory fragments and limited materials and tools. In order to survive, there is no other choice.

If it was said that the background outline of the story had some commonalities with other doomsday games, then the document also contained the environmental settings of several regional towns along the way, along with the settings of various mutated organisms…….

These were the most important innovation structures!

The doomsday games in China were almost all foreign copyrights, and most of them focused on fighting zombies or machines, but the conceptual structure of this game—

As long as you discovered the right hunting and domestication methods, those mutated creatures could be tamed and even acknowledge an owner. Once the owner was successfully acknowledged, the “pet” would become a unique killing device.

Li Yuan breathed heavily, and fell unknowingly into the doomsday background set by the other party.

When he returned to his senses, “Will” on the other side of the screen had sent another long text: “Version 1.0 exists as a mini-game or single-player exploration. When the game concept is promoted and developed, the follow-up 2.0 or even 3.0 can be mobile or large-scale games, with endgame supplementary content, and you can also develop more complex PVP, PVE, and other modes.”

“…….”

Li Yuan received this huge amount of information and couldn’t help but light himself a cigarette, taking two puffs before he could just barely restrain his shock and excitement.

But when he thought about it again, he found it incredible—

How could the other party dare leak such a nearly perfect conceptual framework to him? Could there be such a good thing as a pie falling from the sky?

“Mr. Will, you just sent it to me. Aren’t you afraid that I will block you and take it for my own use?”

Seeing this line of inquiry on the screen, Pei Yi chuckled as if he had been expecting it. “Chat records can be used as evidence, not to mention that you have admitted your identity from the very beginning.”

“Also, if you dared to steal, do you have the funds to implement it?”

Li Yuan was silent on the other end for a long time, then sent a series of ellipses, clearly heartbroken by the fact in the second half of the sentence.

Pei Yi pursed his lips. He had already made up his mind—

The reason he chose to believe in Li Yuan was on the one hand because of all the five-star evaluations of him from other Youtu games, and another aspect was because of his own subjective cognition.

Even though Li Yuan became a vicious supporting role in the later stages of the novel and was “hated by everyone,” Pei Yi always felt that—

A person who had no background at the banquet but was willing to stand up to defend a “little fool,” a person who changed his profession after his father’s death and desperately maintained the family business, how could Li Yuan’s true character be bad?

Just like Bo Yueming’s blackening had traces to follow, maybe Li Yuan’s blackening was due to helplessness? It was still early now. He could take the initiative to contact him and try.

Pei Yi had set himself a very clear goal of making money. Apart from relying on small games to accumulate funds, he also must own a game company that could let him make his own decisions.

It was too difficult and slow to build an entire company on his own, and it was easy to suffer losses when looking for large companies that had already perfected their systems. Right now, Li Yuan was the best choice of ally.

What did it matter that the game company was on the verge of bankruptcy? As long as its strength was great enough, it could still make a comeback!

Li Yuan asked carefully on the screen again, “What are the specific requirements? Since Mr. Will is willing to frankly reveal the truth to me, it can’t be just for the sake of ‘helping others,’ right?”

Pei Yi liked to talk with straightforward people, so he didn’t beat around the bush at all. “The structure of the series ‘The Last Fog’ is all in my mind. What I showed Mr. Li was just the tip of the iceberg.”

“If Xiao Li is willing to cooperate, I am willing to be the chief producer of “The Last Fog” starting from the initial development. I will personally handle all of the designs and narratives online, and my working hours are free.”

“However, from the initial investment to the cost consumption, I won’t have a hand in personnel recruitment, technical support, or follow-up operations and publicity.”

“By the way, if the project fails later, I will take the initiative to pay half of the loss.”

“Conversely, if the future release to 2.0 is successful, first, the copyright cannot be resold without my consent. Second, if I want to become a shareholder in this project, the equity can only be more and not less. The details can be discussed later.”

Use your own hard work to open up the market for others for free, and wait until the later stages to reap the harvest. Of course, there was also the possibility of Li Yuan reneging on the project halfway—

The essence of this partnership was a big gamble. Pei Yi firmly believed that he had the strength to win and the courage to lose.

It was getting dark.

Li Yuan stared at this large paragraph of clear and ambitious cooperation requirements, and didn’t move for a long time, until the cigarette burned his fingers and he suddenly hissed.

God.

Where was this a normal partnership?

The other party clearly wanted to rely on the project of “The Last Fog” to take a stake in their “Dawn Games” and occupy a position.

Li Yuan was more aware of the feasibility of this game project than anyone else. He stroked his reddened fingertips, and after a long silence, typed a single line—

“Let me think about it.”

“Within a week, I won’t wait longer.”

Pei Yi had expected that Li Yuan would not just agree like this, and after quickly leaving a deadline, he got up and stretched his muscles, then opened the door and went downstairs.

The air was filled with the aroma of food. Bo Yueming and Lin Zhong, who had finished their business affairs, had already taken their seats in the dining room. The latter noticed his figure. “Little Sir, come quickly.”

Uncle Kai, who had originally planned to go upstairs to call a certain person, smiled. “Our Little Sir, ah, he came down after smelling the aromas.”

Pei Yi felt his stomach’s protest and pretended to approach obediently. “…….So hungry.”

Bo Yueming’s eyes flickered slightly. “Sit down and eat.”

At the corner of the table was the golden invitation letter from Bo Guancheng. Pei Yi quickly glanced at the address and time of the banquet, and in the next second, Uncle Kai put it away in disgust.

“Second Young Master, do you want to keep the invitation letter?”

Bo Yueming lowered his eyes and took a slow sip of soup. “Throw it away.”

Uncle Kai directly kneaded it into a ball and threw it into the trash can next to him. What invitation letter could he need? Who would dare to stop the Second Young Master, who had handled the project himself?

Assistant Lin Zhong was taken aback. “Mr. Bo, you can’t be going?”

“I’m going.”

This project had taken him seven or eight months of painstaking effort, and he couldn’t let that “good guy” Bo Guancheng do it alone.

“Mm”

Pei Yi concentrated on scooping up a spoonful of custard.

Hearing this sound, Bo Yueming raised his eyes and asked, “Pei Yi, do you want to come with me? Or do you still want to stay at home?”

Pei Yi didn’t expect that Bo Yueming would suddenly ask about his wishes, so he slowly set down the spoon and began to recall the plot—

The original plot did not focus much on this celebration banquet. Because Bo and Pei had reached a business partnership, Pei Huan was also invited to attend the banquet. He managed to snag a chairman from the chamber of commerce with a lot of background, which led to a big partnership.

In addition, he also helped Bo Yueming when he was suffering from the inconvenience of his eyes, and gained a bit of favor from the latter.

As for the foolish and timid original owner, the scenes before and after could only be summed up in one sentence — he followed Bo Yueming to the celebration banquet in a cutscene, and after he came back, he hid in the bathroom all day long, refusing to easily go out.

“Little Sir? Second Young Master asked you something.” Uncle Kai scooped up a bowl of hibiscus soup for Pei Yi and reminded him softly, “Why don’t you just stay at home and rest?”

The experience of Pei Yi almost being bullied at the last banquet had left Uncle Kai with lingering fears.

Pei Yi intended to respect the trajectory of the original work, and shook his head. “I’ll go.”

Bo Yueming agreed. “Go if you want, ba.”

Pei Yi nodded, and suddenly had a new idea. “Your, your friend……will he go?”

“Friend?”

Bo Yueming came to his senses. “You mean Yan Cen?”

Pei Yi gave a hum.

“The invitation letter for the celebration hosted by Bo Guancheng couldn’t reach him.” Bo Yueming took a calm sip of soup and asked, “What are you asking about Yan Cen for?”

“…….”

Pei Yi remembered that Yan Cen was not included in the plot description of this celebration banquet, and that was why he wanted the other party to participate through Bo Yueming’s invitation.

Faced with Bo Yueming’s questioning, Pei Yi couldn’t directly explain the reason. After a few seconds of hesitation, he gave a superficial but reasonable excuse for a fool.

“He’s very good-looking.”

“…….”

Bo Yueming’s right hand that was holding the spoon clenched and then loosened. The spoon fell and hit the bowl with a bang, and soup splashed all over.

Uncle Kai quickly handed over the napkins. “Second Young Master, were you burned?”

Bo Yueming slowly wiped the liquid from his hands, lowered his eyes, and gave a smile that was not a smile. “Very good-looking? So you want to see him more?”

Uncle Kai and Lin Zhong exchanged glances and tacitly chose to be mute. Having been with Bo Yueming for a long time, they had already noticed an unusual subtlety.

Pei Yi pondered Bo Yueming’s question and suddenly came to a realization, but the realization was wrong—

Oh, I got it!

He had used those same words to sincerely praise Bo Yueming. For men, no matter how good their relationship was with a friend in peacetime, there would more or less be a little desire to compete. What’s more, in the original text, weren’t the male protagonist and the villain equal in every respect?

Pei Yi quickly pretended to be well-behaved and made up for it, “Er-ge is better-looking.”

“…….”

Er-ge was spoken softly, and it sounded sincere.

Bo Yueming managed to suppress his slightly out of tune emotions, and smashed his expectations. “Yan Cen went to another province two days ago and can’t come back.”

Pei Yi let out an “Oh” and didn’t force it.

No wonder the protagonist Yan Cen was not included in this part of the original text. So he was really delayed by something?

In fact, he had wanted to take the opportunity to bring Li Yuan and Yan Cen together to meet. It just so happened that the former’s company lacked investment, and the latter and Bo Yueming had private investment companies. If the project for “The Last Fog” was suitable, they could build a bridge in terms of early capital.

However, Li Yuan hadn’t agreed yet, so there was no rush to raise funds for the time being.

Bo Yueming didn’t know that so much was going through Pei Yi’s mind, and quickly changed the topic. “All right, let’s eat.”

Hearing this, Lin Zhong on the side silently lowered his head—

Like hell!

No way!

Where did Boss Yan need to travel?

Mr. Bo must be jealous, so he was deliberately tricking the little fool!

. . . . . .

In the blink of an eye, it was Sunday.

Just like the birthday banquet, this time the celebration was arranged at the same hotel. Guided by an attendant, Bo Yueming and his party went straight into the banquet hall on the thirteenth floor.

Compared to the magnificence of the last birthday banquet, this time the layout was more simple and elegant, and most of the people invited to participate were the staff who had worked hard on the “Yuandi” project team.

When everyone saw Bo Yueming, whom they hadn’t seen for a long time, their gazes were surprised and also a little regretful—

Although Bo Yueming was ruthlessly strict in his work in the past, every time he pointed out a problem, he hit the nail on the head. On the entire project team, there was no member who didn’t recognize him as the leader.

Later, the when project was preparing to reach its final stage, Bo Yueming had a sudden accident and the rights to the project were transferred into Bo Guancheng’s hands without any delay.

The members of the project team weren’t aware of the twists and turns inside the Bo family, but everyone felt that Bo Guancheng had picked it up through a loophole and was now taking credit for other people’s contributions.

The surrounding eyes hovered, and Bo Guancheng, who was dressed in a fancy outfit and wore an exquisite hairstyle, walked over with the attitude of a ‘host.’’ “Yueming, you’re finally here.”

With that said, he glanced at Pei Yi’s face again, a little surprised. “I didn’t expect the Little Young Master to follow. Coincidentally, Pei Huan is also here today.”

The marriage between Bo Yueming and Pei Yi had built a bridge between the Bo and Pei families, and both Bo Guancheng and Pei Huan became the leaders of the long-term cooperation under the arrangement of their parents.

Speak of the devil and he will arrive.

Pei Huan brought a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes into the banquet hall, and after meeting Bo Guancheng’s eyes, he immediately walked over with the person next to him. “Chairman Sun, let me introduce you—”

“This is Bo Guancheng, the current general manager of the Bo group, the Yuandi project was led by him.”

As soon as the second half of that sentence was uttered, the expressions of the knowledgeable people around shifted.

Bo Guancheng glanced at Bo Yueming with a smile and stretched out a hand. “Chairman Sun, hello. I have been looking forward to meeting you.”

Sun Yelong was the chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Germany. Because he was abroad all year round, he was not very clear about the changes in the top management of the Bo Group, but when he heard the government-sponsored Yuandi project mentioned, he still attached importance to Bo Guancheng.

“Boss Bo is young and promising.”

“Chairman Sun praises me too much.” Bo Guancheng pretended to be self-effacing, and his words contained other meanings, “If there is a chance, Mr. Pei and I are also looking forward to cooperating with you.”

In fact, they had quietly reached an intention to cooperate for the first phase of a project, and even the initial funding was put in place. However, the second phase of the project was the more profitable part, and had not yet been fully negotiated.

Sun Yelong, who was an old fox, smiled without responding.

Suddenly, he seemed to notice something out of the corner of his eye, and his attention quickly shifted away from Bo Yueming’s face. “Who are these two?”

“Chairman Sun, this is my cousin, Bo Yueming. Due to the inconvenience of his eye injury, he has basically stayed at home to recuperate during this period of time.”

Bo Guancheng smiled as he finished the introduction on behalf of Bo Yueming, without mentioning the other party’s position and achievements in the group.

Sun Yelong nodded slightly and stared unblinkingly at Pei Yi, who had a fair face and a well-behaved expression. “Then who is this?”

Bo Guancheng said, “This is Boss Pei’s cousin, Pei Yi, who is also Yueming’s partner…..”

“Married?”

Sun Yelong’s gave them a subtle, meaningful glance. “I see that the two gentlemen are both young, which is really surprising.”

Pei Yi very much disliked the slightly greasy pot bellied man in front of him, and felt that there was something wrong with the scrutiny in his eyes, so he quietly hid behind Bo Yueming—

Although after transmigrating, Pei Yi was not very satisfied with his height of 1.78 meters, Bo Yueming’s height of 1.9 meters was sufficient, and at least the height difference between the two made it easy to hide.

Keenly aware of Pei Yi’s retreat, Bo Yueming thought he was afraid of meeting a stranger. “It seems that there is an important cooperation between Dage and Chairman Sun? Then we will not bother you.”

After speaking, he turned around and held Pei Yi’s wrist tightly. “Okay, let’s go.”

Pei Yi looked down at the cool hand wrapped around his wrist. Witnessing Bo Guancheng’s duplicitous attitude again, he still intended to vent his anger on Bo Yueming’s behalf. 

Thus, he adjusted his original review, “A really ugly thief.”

This sentence fell into the ears of people in the know and became the most straightforward ridicule. The team members who were secretly watching this scene were surprised, and held back their laughter. They didn’t expect that Pei Yi at Bo Yueming’s side would dare to criticize him to his face.

The wording was rude, but the message was not unfounded. Compared to Bo Yueming, who was outstanding in appearance and ability, Bo Guancheng was indeed much worse.

“…….”

Over and over, again and again!

Bo Guancheng was so angered by Pei Yi’s rudeness that his heart hurt terribly, and he could barely retain his bright demeanor.

Bo Yueming sensed the embarrassment and stagnation in the air, and that bit of gloom in his heart miraculously disappeared.

The corners of his mouth curled up at the trace of protectiveness in the other party’s targeting. “Dage knows about Pei Yi’s situation. Since we are all family members now, I hope you will forgive him and not take it to heart.”

At the time they were forced to marry, the other party used these words to suppress him, and now he was being treated in the same way.

Bo Guancheng’s back molars were almost crushed, but he had personally invited Bo Yueming to the celebration banquet. Even this marriage was his handiwork, so he couldn’t drive this person out in full view, right?

At this thought, Bo Guancheng could only swallow his anger. “Naturally.”

. . . . . .

Bo Yueming and Pei Yi walked to the rest area together. Pei Huan, who had remained silent the entire time, looked at their enjoined hands and felt an unprecedented emotion rise in his heart.

When they met at the the banquet last time, was the relationship between these two people so close? 

With Bo Yueming’s outstanding ability and great pride, how could he appreciate Pei Yi, who had been a fool since childhood?

To the side, Bo Guancheng braced himself and said, “Chairman Sun, excuse me, the celebration banquet is about to start and I must check on the situation.”

Sun Yelong said, “Mr. Bo, do as you please.”

Pei Huan came back to his senses. “En, Chairman Sun, I’ll accompany you.”

The import project with the German Chamber of Commerce would be the first big cooperation between Bo and Pei, and both Bo Guancheng and Pei Huan needed to be one hundred percent dedicated.

The first thing was naturally to hold onto and curry favor with Sun Yelong, the chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce.

Bo Guancheng met Pei Huan’s eyes and took the lead to depart.

Pei Huan summoned a waiter and took two glasses of white wine. “Chairman Sun, may I drink with you?”

Sun Yelong took it with a smile, and while toasting and drinking, he still covertly glanced at the rest area. After a few seconds, he probed, “Mr. Pei, is your cousin……”

Pei Huan was taken aback for a moment, and then answered apologetically, “Yes, something happened to Xiao Yi when he was ten years old, so his mind is lacking. He was talking nonsense just now, I apologize.”

“It’s a pity, Little Young Master Pei looks so well-behaved and comely.”

Sun Yelong shook his wine glass slightly, and something flickered in his eyes. “I don’t feel that Second Young Master Bo seems like someone who would accept such a marriage partner. The Bo and Pei families are married? How long has it been?”

Pei Huan vaguely felt that something wasn’t right. “It really can’t be kept from Chairman Sun’s eyes. This marriage was agreed on by the elders of the two families, and the two have been together for less than a month.”

“Less than a month?”

Sun Yelong reflected on this time and smiled meaningfully. “Young Mr. Pei, our cooperation can be set in stone as long as…….”

He leaned close to Pei Huan’s ear and spoke for a moment.

Pei Huan’s expression changed when he heard these words, and he subconsciously thought to refuse. Then Sun Yelong looked at him and said, “On the basis of the original cooperation funds, I can guarantee an additional 1.5 points of profit for the second phase of the project, which is a good deal.”

“…….”

Pei Huan’s words of refusal came to his lips, and he swallowed them down. His eyes flickered for a few seconds. He said, “Chairman Sun, I must discuss this matter with Mr. Bo.”

Sun Yelong clinked their wine glasses together and said nothing.

. . . . . .

Bo Guancheng wanted to use the celebration banquet to upset Bo Yueming, but in the end, not only did he fail to achieve his goal, he also lost face to Pei Yi.

Not only that, but some employees on the project team thought about Bo Yueming’s ability and went one after another to toast with him. 

The banquet was halfway over.

Bo Guancheng, who had shelved his anger, walked up again, followed by a man who looked very official. “Minister Zheng, even if Bo Yueming hides in the rest area, he must be the focus of attention.”

As he said that, his eyes that were like needles hidden in cotton swept over the team members who came to toast one by one.

Everyone immediately stepped back, not daring to stay in the rest area.

Even if they admired Bo Yueming’s ability, the other party was already a former boss, so they couldn’t make the current boss dissatisfied.

Pei Yi ate the last bite of his cake and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

If you asked him, Bo Guancheng’s spirit still lingered on, and after being scolded by him three times, he still had the cheek to come here?

Bo Yueming handed over a wine glass, and Uncle Kai took it and put it down. Only then did he stand and face the source of a voice. “Minister Zheng?”

The other party had cooperated with Bo on two occasions, which were connected to Bo Yueming himself, breaking away from official commercial cooperation. The two had also made several golfing appointments in secret, and were golfing friends.

“Yueming, as soon as I came here, I heard Boss Bo say that you were also present tonight.”

Minister Zheng took the initiative to speak out, and his face was full of the interest of meeting an acquaintance. “I haven’t seen you since your accident. Are you free now? Shall we find a quieter place to talk?”

Bo Guancheng was the first to answer, “How about I ask an attendant to open a quieter tea room box and we all sit together?”

Minister Zheng nodded in agreement, and immediately consulted, “Yueming, what do you think?”

Bo Yueming’s eyes narrowed slightly. “That is fine.”

He deeply believed in Minister Zheng’s character, and the other party was unlikely to reach an agreement with Bo Guancheng in a short period of time. This invitation to chat should be a temporary idea. 

As soon as those words were spoken, Bo Guancheng proposed, “Uncle Kai will stay with Little Young Master Pei, right? There are many things to eat and drink in the banquet hall, and there will be small performances later, so it won’t be boring.”

When Uncle Kai heard this, he anxiously refused. “That won’t work, Second Young Master’s eyesight is inconvenient, I must follow him.”

If the car accident was really man-made, then Bo Guangcheng was the one they were most on guard against. How could Uncle Kai rest assured?

Bo Yueming was also wary of Bo Guancheng, and could only ask, “Pei Yi, you……”

“I won’t go.”

Pei Yi shook his head and took the opportunity to look at the wine tower nearby. After enduring for a few days, his craving had reappeared, and he secretly guessed in his heart—

This chat should take at least half an hour, right?

Now that the opportunity arose, of course he would sneak a small drink!

Bo Yueming’s words got stuck in his throat before he could finish, and he had no choice but to follow his wishes. “Then wait for me to come back and don’t run around.”

Pei Yi responded with a low sound.

He had the ability to judge right from wrong, so he naturally wouldn’t cause trouble easily, and it also wouldn’t be easy for someone to cause trouble in public.

After confirming that Bo Yueming’s figure had left the banquet hall, Pei Yi immediately picked up a glass of champagne. Having learned his lesson after getting drunk last time, he didn’t intend to overdo it, and just sipped it slowly.

After less than half a glass, an attendant suddenly called out behind him, “Little Young Master Pei.”

“…….”

Pei Yi turned around apprehensively, and after realizing that there was only the attendant and no Bo Yueming, his tense expression relaxed.

The waiter didn’t care about the champagne in Pei Yi’s hand, and only explained to him slowly, “Little Young Master, the Second Young Master is still worried about you being here alone, so he specially asked me to take you there.”

Worried?

What was there to be worried about?

Pei Yi glanced around the banquet hall, and his seemingly innocent eyes fell back on the waiter’s face. “Go where?”

The waiter stooped down slightly and beckoned, “Follow me.”

Pei Yi’s eyes flickered slightly. He set the unfinished glass of champagne heavily on the table and followed.

The two left the banquet hall one after another and took the elevator upstairs.

The number of floors increased as they went, until the elevator opened with a mechanical sound—

“Ding-dong! You have arrived at the twenty-first floor!”

The waiter turned and looked at Pei Yi, and after confirming that the other party was still obediently well-behaved, he deliberately widened the arc of his smile. “Little Young Master, we will be there soon.”

“En.”

The smile evoked a touch of clarity, and Pei Yi followed.

The high-class corridor was very quiet. Dangerously so.

When passing the access door in the middle section, Pei Yi, who was following behind, suddenly changed direction and ran toward it.

The attendant caught a glimpse of this change from the corner of his eye, and hurriedly caught up in order to stop him. “Little Young Master, that’s the wrong way, it’s not this……ah!”

His unfinished words instantly became an exclamation.

Having entered the access corridor first, Pei Yi seized the right moment and clamped the attendant’s neck from behind with his strong right hand, and grasped the other’s wrist with his left for reinforcement, restraining the attendant hard just like that.

—Slam!

Pei Yi exerted all his strength and slammed the attendant’s face into the door panel, completely closing it with the inertia.

The two were about the same in stature and strength, and if it really came to a fight, Pei Yi might not have the advantage, but the momentum must be sufficient!

At this thought, Pei Yi suddenly turned around and changed his position. He leaned against the door panel and took advantage of the object to firmly control the attendant beside him.

“…….”

The attendant was stupefied by Pei Yi’s series of movements, and even his struggling was a few beats behind.

He didn’t understand at all how Pei Yi, who was obedient and well-behaved just now, suddenly changed!

Pei Yi tore off his mask that he had worn for many days, and his questioning voice passed over lightly, “The twenty-first floor is all guest rooms. What are you bringing me there for? Who instructed you?”

The attendant couldn’t break free for a while, and tried to lie, “Little Young Master, it, it was the Second Young Master who asked me to…..”

Pei Yi sneered. “If Bo Yueming wanted me to follow, then he wouldn’t have agreed to let me stay in the banquet hall alone in the first place. Even if he regretted it temporarily, he would have had Uncle Kai come to me.”

Besides, the attendant had already shown his flaws at the beginning.

If it was Bo Yueming or Uncle Kai who gave the order, then he would have been called Little Sir.

“Tell me, was it Bo Guancheng? Or was it Pei Huan?”

Each time Pei Yi uttered a name, the strength of his restraint on his arm tightened a bit. “Was it Chairman Sun?”

It was the clearest interrogation.

Pei Yi was obviously speaking in a soft tone, but the attendant felt goosebumps all over his body when he heard it—-

Wait a minute!

The little young master of the Pei family was supposed to be a fool!

Could it have been a mistake? Did he know from the beginning?

Thinking of this divine possibility, the attendant gulped flusteredly. “Little, Little Young Master?”

“What?”

Pei Yi felt the attendant’s panicked stiffness, and the cold light in his eyes reappeared. “You didn’t really think I was as unaware and foolish as the rumors say, and ready to be slaughtered by others, right?”

---

[1] “Vest” is a term for assuming a different identity/username. ⮐

[2] Both “Pear Garden” (梨园) and Li Yuan (黎于安) are pronounced the same other than the intonation. This connection is a lot more apparent in the Chinese raws. ⮐

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Twenty-One <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Three

T/N: Thank you, VC3, for your Kofi donation! Since you bought me two coffees, here are two extra chapters in addition to the regularly scheduled update!

It was nighttime.

Uncle Kai hurried back from the courtyard. He glanced at Bo Yueming, who was sitting firmly on the sofa and stroking the cat, and unconsciously glanced at the master bedroom. “Second Young Master, I’m back.”

“En.”

The movements of Bo Yueming’s hand paused for a moment, and then he continued to smooth the cat’s fur.

Inspector was lying comfortably on his lap, purring contentedly, which was completely different from when it was puffing up its fur earlier.

Uncle Kai stood by the sofa and told the honest situation of his negotiations with the resort, “The woman who broke in this afternoon is named Lin Na, and the information here says that she is twenty-five years old, from Nan County.”

“After the manager heard the news, he immediately sent someone to fetch the surveillance and questioned the staff who lived in the same dormitory as her. The other party said that she was packing her luggage and talking about leaving three days ago. Her phone cannot be contacted, and the last time surveillance captured her was at 3:10 in the afternoon.”

“I didn’t go into that much detail with the manager, and only said that Lin Na went into the room to steal something, but you and Little Sir caught her……”

Uncle Kai paused, then continued to report the current investigation results. “The manager has files complaints for “unlawful entry” and “attempted theft” to the police, and we will be contacted as soon as there is news.”

This was already the best way to go forward without any adverse effects.

“I understand.”

Bo Yueming responded without a change in expression, and moved to a different topic. “Did all the news get out?”

Uncle Kai went with the flow and answered, “Yes, Second Young Master. When you left the hospital yesterday, those people went to enquire about the news. The people arranged by the hospital still followed the original statement and told them that the possibility of your eyes being cured is very low.”

“En.”

Bo Yueming nodded slightly and added, “I asked Professor Lin to come here to get treated in secret, and I will disclose it to them in a matter of time, but I still can’t tell the truth. Just say that even the medical team here has no solution.”

Uncle Kai frowned slightly, hesitating to speak. “Second Young Master, your eyes have clearly improved. Why are you deliberately keeping it a secret?”

Ever since the car accident, hadn’t the second branch couple and Bo Guancheng overtly and covertly stolen things from Bo Yueming? How many times did Bo Wang from the main branch mock him?

In Uncle Kai’s opinion, the family’s Second Young Master should release the news that his eyes were recovering soon in order to kill the power of this group of people and make them fearful again!

There was a hint of hostility in Bo Yueming’s eyes, but he patted Inspectors head twice. “Go to the room, ba.”

“Meow-wu~”

The very human-like Inspector responded, then jumped off the sofa and ran back to the master bedroom, which had the lights on. 

Bo Yueming moved his strong wrist, and pale blue veins appeared on the back of his hand due to the silent force. “Uncle Kai, the car accident that caused me to lose my sight was likely deliberately done by the main branch.”

“What?!”

Uncle Kai lost control and shouted, then immediately restrained his excessively leaking emotions. “Second Young Master, didn’t the police say that the truck driver was driving under the influence of alcohol, which caused the accident?”

“Yes, the police’s judgment in the investigation is correct, and the driver did indeed go to prison.”

Bo Yueming recalled the information that his friend Yan Cen had investigated for him not long ago, and became even colder—

The truck driver’s family had moved twice in just two months. On the surfaced, it looked like the family was still poor, but the son who had just gone to college began to frequent expensive places, and once even let it be known after drinking that his father had connections, and now he had a lot of money on hand.

Uncle Kai understood after a moment, and his expression became more complicated.

“If the driver on my side had reacted a little slower, the accident wouldn’t have been my eyes, but my life.” Bo Yueming had never doubted his judgment and intuition. “Uncle Kai, tell me, if the main branch has a guilty conscience and my eyes are about to recover, what will they do?”

Uncle Kai was filled with apprehension. “Since there was a first time, there will be a second time, and in order to avoid future troubles, won’t they try harder than the first time?”

There was no trace of fear on Bo Yueming’s face. He simply analyzed his current situation very clearly, “Grandma is now bedridden and unconscious, and that old man is completely biased toward the main branch. My eyesight is not yet clear, and it would be only a detriment with no benefits to reveal the situation too early.”

“Conversely, the news of my secret treatment will leak out, along with the news that my eyes have ‘not been getting better.’ Only when there are flaws will it appear to be true, and if there is no threat, they will not think about dealing with me thoroughly.”

If the main branch was in the dark but Bo Yueming was not, then from the day that his eyes were completely restored in secret, this situation would be completely reversed.

Bo Yueming clenched his fist, then released it. “Let them be proud, let them be brazen, and one day, I will get it all back with interest.”

Uncle Kai expressed his support in a low voice.

After all, the behavior of the main branch had really touched the bottom line. Who could let them go easily?

“It’s getting late, go back next door and rest. You need to accompany me to receive treatment tomorrow morning.” Bo Yueming thought of Pei Yi, who was still showering in the master bedroom and didn’t go further into the details.

“All right.”

Uncle Kai responded, and suddenly remembered something. “Second Young Master, you stayed with Little Sir last night, did you not have a good rest?”

“…….”

Bo Yueming was taken aback for a moment, thinking that Uncle Kai had noticed something.

After all, the “intimate” situation last night as something he had never experienced in more than twenty years of life, but after some thought, the other party should just be considering his living habits.

Bo Yueming stifled a cough. “It was fine, why?”

“I inquired with the manager before I returned, and there are vacant rooms in another courtyard nearby, or it could also be convenient to ask the hotel staff to move in another sofa bed. If you and Little Sir cannot get used to it, you can take advantage of this time……”

Before Uncle Kai could finish his proposal, Bo Yueming put a halt to the conversation. “In any case, it’s only a night or two. Don’t bother, we both rested pretty well.”

“…….”

Uncle Kai tried to find a trace of unusual affection from Bo Yueming’s expression, but failed. “Then, I’ll go back to the side room first. Second Young Master can call for me anytime if he needs something.”

“En.”

Uncle Kai sent Bo Yueming back to the door of the room, then turned and left.

. . . . . . 

Pei Yi, who had finished showering, was sitting at the head of the bed and using a disposable pet wipe to give Inspector a bath. Upon seeing Bo Yueming slowly entering the room, he stopped wiping.

“Meow~”

Inspector opened its eyes unsurely, as if still hoping that its master would rub it more.

Pei Yi removed the disposable gloves and threw them in the trash can along with the wipes, calling out tentatively, “Er-ge?”

He was unaccustomed at first, but familiar with it soon enough.

Bo Yueming was used to this address and didn’t stop until his calves touched the edge of the bed. “You’ve finished showering?”

Pei Yi hummed lightly, and after much deliberation, decided to ask a question. “……We, are we still together tonight?”

“What?”

“Where is the bed?” In order to maintain his cover, Pei Yi cherished words like gold. “You said, sleep separately.”

Bo Yueming finally regained his senses and remembered what he said last night: “I will ask the staff to arrange a small bed for you tomorrow.”

It was said that he was “foolish” and not sensible, but he clearly remembered this.

Bo Yueming was silent for a second or two, then said casually, “The other courtyards are full, and there are no extra cots that can be easily moved.”

“……”

Pei Yi frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Really?

How come when he took Inspector for a walk today, there were still several courtyards empty and unoccupied?

Bo Yueming didn’t wait for Pei Yi’s response, and thought he was still sulking because of dissatisfaction. “You are so unwilling to sleep in the same bed with me? Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

Bo Yueming paused for a second, then, with some unspeakable and subtle thoughts, teased him, “Your snoring was louder than Inspector’s.”

“…….”

Pei Yi was stunned, and a thin layer of red appeared on his face due to the surprise.

He snored in his sleep?

Impossible!

It took Pei Yi a long while to digest this ‘fact,’ and he mumbled, “I don’t.”

If they shared a bed, then they shared a bed. Anyway, neither of them would do anything to the other!

Besides, he had slept unexpectedly comfortably and soundly last night. If he really changed to another bed, it might not have the same effect.

Bo Yueming’s lips hooked up briefly, and he explored around to pick up his pajamas. “I’m going to wash up, you go to bed early.”

“Okay.”

When Bo Yueming entered the bathroom, Pei Yi patted his faintly hot cheeks. He moved back to the bed and covered himself with the blanket, then patted the empty space on the outside and whispered, “Inspector, come~”

Inspector looked at Pei Yi, then at the same position it was in last night, and turned around to jump off the bed, going into its cat nest without looking back.

“Meow-wu~”

“…….”

Pei Yi didn’t understand, and muttered, “Why aren’t you willing to sleep with me?”

Bo Yueming had already showered again after being interrupted by Lin Na in the afternoon, and it didn’t take much time to wash up before going to bed. Just like last night, he and Pei Yi each lay on the bed under the air-conditioned blanket.

Pei Yi went ahead and turned off the bedside lamp.

Click.

Once the light in the room vanished, Bo Yueming found that the light spots in his field of vision also went black. It was a good thing to be able to perceive changes in the external environment.

Bo Yueming’s mood became a little more relaxed, and he took the rare initiative to say, “Pei Yi, good night.”

In the darkness, Pei Yi was a little surprised, but politely responded, “Good night, Er-ge.”

The bedroom returned to silence.

Bo Yueming was not in a hurry to sleep tonight. He thought about what he should do if Pei Yi treated him like a pillow again in his sleep.

The slightly breathing of the two people undulated and blended in the dark night.

Then Pei Yi took the first step and fell asleep peacefully, and last night’s situation did not reoccur.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Bo Yueming slowly turned to the left. He opened his eyes and gazed into the darkness, and a little disappointment that even he didn’t notice passed through his heart—

This person.

Why was he sleeping so honestly tonight?

. . . . . .

Bo Yueming and his party stayed at the resort for three days in total. As for the follow-up conservative treatment, he could choose to continue it in a private medical institution in the Imperial Capital, and Professor Lin would come forward to help represent him.

Bo Yueming, Pei Yi, and the others had just returned to the small villa by two o’clock in the afternoon, and before everyone could take a breath, an uninvited guest appeared at the door.

“Yueming, where have you been these few days? I’ve been looking forward to having you back.”

Bo Guancheng stepped straight into the main room of the villa. His eyes fell on the light suitcase that Uncle Kai had not yet packed away, and a sneer flashed across his face.

Bo Yueming easily recognized his voice, and calmly said, “Why is Dage looking for me? There was nothing to do at home, so I took Pei Yi out on a whim to relieve boredom.”

“Really?”

Having already inquired about the situation, Bo Guancheng naturally did not believe his words, and said with a chuckle, “I thought Second Brother didn’t trust the diagnosis of Dijing Hospital, so he ran to have another doctor look at his eyes.”

What was the use in finding one?

If they could be cured, why come back in despair after only two or three days?

Pei Yi couldn’t get used to Bo Guancheng’s face, so he raised a middle finger silently in his heart to show his respect.

Bo Yueming let a trace of frustration and powerlessness leak out at just the right time, and “forcibly” cheered up again. “Dage, why did you come to see me?”

“There is an urgent matter.”

Bo Guancheng approached and handed over the invitation letter in his hand. “The government-led project in the Yuandi Commercial District has been successfully won by our Bo family. Grandpa is very satisfied.”

“…….”

With the tone of a leader, Bo Guancheng invited with a smile, “This weekend, I plan to hold a celebration banquet to reward all the staff of this project team, and invite some big names to see if there is any opportunity to expand projects in other fields. Would you like to attend?”

Assistant Lin Zhong, who was standing at the side, changed his expression. He had to suppress it again, however, and could only feel aggrieved for Bo Yueming in his heart.

The project in the Yuandi Commercial District was the top priority of the Imperial Capital circle for the past two years. Bo Yueming was in full charge of the early stages, and even in the first round of bidding, they entered with an absolute advantage.

As a result, not long after Bo Yueming’s eye accident happened, Old Mr. Bo transferred the project to Bo Guancheng.

It was obviously Bo Yueming who had given it his all, but in the end, it was Bo Guancheng who ate up all the dividends and praises. Lin Zhong saw this and was aggrieved!

Bo Guancheng handed the invitation letter to Bo Yueming again, as if he didn’t dare to take credit for it. “Yueming, you have always contributed to this project, and I don’t think this celebration banquet can go on without you.”

He spoke very nicely.

This was just taking out the invitation letter with the attitude of its organizer. Wasn’t this just a way of flaunting it?

Bo Yueming grasped the invitation letter with his fingertips and took it lightly. “Thanking Dage for his concern. I will certainly be there on time for this celebration banquet.”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Twenty <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Two

They had to travel with a light cavalry. The horse-drawn carriage could not drive along the winding path, and although Liu Xian’an’s short-legged pony was dexterous and its stamina was not low, it walked very slow, plod, plod, plod, plod, making time stretch to infinity. Therefore, Hua Pingye found a new brown horse for him. Its legs were as long as Xuan Jiao’s, but its personality was a bit arrogant and it would kick up when it saw anyone.

Gao Lin was speechless: “It’s hard for you to sit on this ancestor yourself, but you’ll make Second Young Master Liu ride it?”

Hua Pingye was also surprised: “It won’t work? But Second Young Master Liu can even ride Xuan Jiao, I thought he was a master horse trainer.”

While the two were talking, Liu Xian’an next to them was startled by the brown horse and took two steps back. A dead root hooked his ankle, and he almost fell into the mud.

Liang Shu caught him in time and casually put him on Xuan Jiao: “Sit well, you ride this one.”

Liu Xian’an grabbed the saddle with both hands: “……Okay.”

Liang Shu turned around and mounted the brown horse. He tightened the reins in one hand and angrily reprimanded it in a low voice: “Behave!”

The brown horse took two disobedient steps back. Although it still looked unwilling, it didn’t act like a demon again in the end. It stamped its hooves on the spot without making a sound.

A-Ning fastened his pack tightly and climbed onto a big horse. What he experienced and heard along the way had changed his state of mind a little. He had become more mature and sensible, and had lost some weight. His originally childish face had lost its baby fat, and with the addition of a pointed chin, his whole person looked like a willow in spring, growing more and more.

The group of people galloped away from Cuiqiu City at the break of dawn.

The refugees outside the city gate were awakened by the neighing of the horses, and opened their heavy eyelids one after another. They watched in a daze as the fog-shrouded team disappeared in an instant, as if they were riding the wind.

. . . . . .

There were quite a few refugees gathered along the way when they first left the city, but after traveling for a few days, the number became less and less. After meeting a family of five in ragged clothes, the guards went over to inquire about the situation. The young man said: “It is said that the master of Cuiqiu City won’t open the city gate. It’s useless to go there, and people can only starve to death in the mountains and forests, so everyone went to Sanshui City, where there is food to eat.”

If they didn’t eat, they would die, but if they rebelled, they may not be able to live. When a person was in a desperate situation, when their only extravagant dream was “survive,” it was not easy to think about whether the food in Sanshui City was contaminated by the blood of other people. They didn’t consider whether there were innocent people among the officials and soldiers who were mobbed and besieged by them.

There was chaos not only in the world, but also in peoples’ hearts. Liu Xian’an said to A-Ning: “There is only one family, so it won’t cause looting. Go and give them some food.”

A-Ning took out a stack of dry biscuits from the bag, wrapped them up, and handed them to the young man: “Cuiqiu City will not open its doors again in the short term, and the people in the city also have no rice left to eat. Save some of this food on the way, and you should be able to make it to Wanhe City, where the situation is much better.”

The young man seemed to think he was dreaming, and his wife was also wiping away tears. A-Ning repeatedly urged: “You must hide the food well along the way, and don’t eat it in front of others. Also, don’t be soft-hearted and distribute it to other refugees. Otherwise, not only will you not be able to save others, but you will also be unable to save yourselves.”

The family of five thanked them repeatedly, and continued on to the other side of the mountain road.

Liang Shu asked Liu Xian’an: “You taught him?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “I didn’t need to teach him.”

“That’s how it is,” Liang Shu said. “Only in a peaceful and prosperous age can a foolish son be raised. Once you see peoples’ hearts a few times in a troubled world, all your innocence will disappear.”

Liu Xian’an first said: “Then what the prince wants in this life is to let Dayan produce more fools?” Aftering thinking about it again, he said, “But that isn’t a bad thing. As long as they are not treacherous and evil, there will be more foolish and mischievous pampered young masters walking their birds and holding cricket fights all day long. This is also suitable for the words ‘prosperous age.’”

After all, prosperous was prosperous, and people would naturally want to be more leisurely. Liang Shu also felt that after what Liu Xian’an said, the little government officials in Wangcheng seemed to become a little bit cute. Of course, they still had to be beaten up, and after the beating, they would be released as auspicious decorations in a peaceful and prosperous world.

One day, they met a little girl in the mountains. She was filthy all over, like a skinny monkey, and only her eyes were big and bright. A-Ning wiped her face and gave her some food. At first, he thought the child was abandoned by the refugees, and was worrying about what to do with her when a woman hurried out of the woods. She dragged the little girl back to her side and ran, pulling her by the wrist.

“Auntie, please slow down, we are not bad people!” A-Ning said hastily, “Your daughter’s foot is sprained.”

A guard flew over to stop them, and the woman looked terrified, constantly trembling. A-Ning coaxed her nicely for a long time before her soul returned to her. The woman stammered that she was from Xiaozhao Village. A few days ago, a group of soldiers broke into the village and said that they wanted to collect military rations. Many people were killed, so the remaining villagers had to hide in the mountains.

Gao Lin inwardly cursed. This bastard.

There were nothing more than two possibilities —

The first was that the refugees pretended to be from the garrison to burn, kill, and loot, which was considered a dereliction of duty by Lu Xiang.

The second was that the garrison was really so arrogant, and took advantage of the instability of the world to massacre the people and fill their own pockets, which was even more a dereliction of duty by Lu Xiang.

According to what the woman said, the group of soldiers did not leave after stealing things. Instead, they lived in Xiaozhao Village openly and blatantly. A while ago, a brave young man went down to look and found that they were still there.

Liu Xian’an said: “Go further down this mountain bend, and we should be at Xiaozhao Village before midnight.”

“Let’s go.” Liang Shu turned his horse’s head. “We’ll see where the beasts came from.”

A-Ning covertly glanced at the prince’s expression and felt……that group of ruffians might only live until midnight.

He bandaged the little girl’s injury and hurriedly followed.

Liu Xian’an and A-Ning’s riding skills had been practiced very well so far, and they did not hinder the progress of the army. When the night was dark, everyone smoothly arrived at Xiaozhao Village and saw a waving flag at the village entrance with the pattern of Dayan’s garrison painted on it. Several soldiers were patrolling back and forth, guarding a bright campfire, and there was wine and meat on the table to keep the cold at bay. One person moved a chair over and sat down, pulling over a bone casually. He ate a couple of bites, likely thought it didn’t taste good, and threw it to a mad dog next to him.

The mad dog yanked the iron chain, scattering the campfire, and a burning log rolled along the ground, illuminating a new area. Liu Xian’an’s pupils shrank slightly. Only then did he realize that there was a person tied up on the other side of the chain. He was lying motionless on the ground, his hair disheveled, and there were many dark brown marks on his body, like dried blood.

Perhaps smelling the scent of meat, he raised his head just barely and looked at the mad dog. The soldiers laughed loudly and deliberately threw another piece of meat to the dog. Stepping on his back, they pulled his hair and forced him to fight the dog for food.

“Are you going to eat or not? Aren’t you hungry? Eat, ah!” The soldiers continued to mock and humiliate him, and pulled out a whip to lash him. Just as one raised it, there was a crack from his arm, and his whole body fell back. He screamed where he lay on the ground.

“Not even as good as beasts.” Gao Lin released his hand and looked at the group of scum in front of him. “I didn’t know Dayan still had soldiers like you.”

“Who are you?” The soldiers touched their swords vigilantly. Perhaps seeing that this group of people were well-dressed and unlike ordinary people, they did not act rashly, and only warned, “We are the Yongzi Battalion under Jiang-daren’s command, and we were ordered to raise military rations here. I advise you not to meddle in our business.”

“Jiang-daren, which Jiang-daren, Jiang Tao or Jiang Zhongqi?”

“Neither…..it’s Jiang-daren Jiang Wei.”

“A low-level official, not even qualified for the prince to know his name, but you have raised a group of trash to bully the common people.” Gao Lin grew angry when he heard this and motioned for his subordinates to rescue the young man first. A-Ning saw that he seemed to be starving so he tore off a piece of meat left on the table, but the young man kept his mouth shut, refusing to eat it. He said: “This…..is my dog, which was killed by them.”

A-Ning’s hands froze. Unable to bear it, he hurriedly removed the meat and went to the carriage to procure some food.

Liu Xian’an fed the young man a few sips of water. At the other end, Gao Lin had already kicked the group of soldiers to pieces, clearing a path. When Liang Shu stepped into the village, the movement and screams at the village entrance had awakened many people. They ran out dazed from sleep, and before they could figure out what was going on, they were all captured by the guards of Xiao Wang Palace. There were a total of thirty-six people, with official documents and approvals, four squares and a big, bright red seal. They really were Dayan’s official garrison.

Therefore, it was even more hateful than refugees pretending. Refugees would commit evil due to their lives being on the line. This group of people, with salaries from the empire, bullied the common people of the Imperial court and truly deserved to die.

There were still some imprisoned villagers in the village, mostly young women. It could be seen that this group of bastards were half a point evil and didn’t intend to improve. The young man was the son of the village chief, named A-Yong. Before, he had shielded many people fleeing for their lives along the small road and stayed behind himself, thinking of dying with the culprits, but in the end, he was weak and alone, and suffered many humiliations these few days.

Gao Lin kicked a groaning man on the ground: “How many teams like yours have been dispatched in total?”

“We – we only know that Jiang-daren sent a total of three teams, and the rest of the battalions are almost the same. If you want to fight a war, the first thing you must do is collect rations, and you have to be fast, so someone else doesn’t get to them first.”

Two levels above Jiang Wei’s head was Jiang Tao, another level up was Jiang Zhongqi, and another level up was Lu Xiang. Even Jiang Wei, whose name was never heard of, could send out three teams. If the entire garrison was released, wouldn’t the common people in a hundred li radius be so disturbed that they would not be safe for a day?

And the garrison should not be short of food at all. No one knew this better than Liang Shu, so no one was angrier than him. The rescued young women were still weeping, and the young man’s legs and feet had been tortured until his bones were exposed. Liang Shu closed his eyes tightly and said: “Throw them all to feed the wolves.”

“Yes!”

Guards dragged these soldiers on the ground and walked toward the outside of the village. The screams and pleas for mercy gradually vanished into the depths of the night. Gao Lin said to A-Yong: “Little brother, you did well, but we must hurry. We can’t stay to protect this village. There may be similar thieves in the future, so you must decide whether you want to take the rest of the people into the mountains or stay here.”

“I know.” The young man panted hoarsely. “I’ll discuss it with Grandpa.”

“Good,” Gao Lin said. “Take care.”

“Big brother!” The young man stopped him and hesitantly looked out of the courtyard. “I just heard you say Xiao……”

Gao Lin patted him on the shoulder: “You rest assured, the prince will definitely get justice for the common people.”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Thirty-Six << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Eight

Because Zhao Xuan was still in a coma, morning court was temporarily suspended, and the two of them stayed in bed until noon.

After Yan Mingting finished his meal, Zhao Yelan dragged him to find a doctor. From the Imperial physicians in the palace to the barefoot doctors among the common people, he questioned them one by one, and the more he questioned, the more hopeless he became.

Zhao Yelan grew angry at the sight of them shaking their heads and sighing, and smashed up several shops. Yan Mingting followed behind and spoke well of compensation.

“They’re all rubbish! Quack doctors!” Zhao Yelan walked back in a fury.

Yan Mingting coaxed him with a few words, but to no avail. He tugged Zhao Yelan’s sleeve, pointed to the small stall next to them, and said: “Mengting, I want to eat that rice cake.”

Zhao Yelan stopped and bought him two rice cakes: “What else do you want to eat?”

“I want to eat roasted peanuts!”

The two went to the shop to buy roasted peanuts, and when they got home, they ate a big bag of them, somewhat overwhelmed. Zhao Yelan woke up thirsty in the middle of the night and found that Yan Mingting was not in the room, so he looked around in a panic and saw a light on in the kitchen. As soon as he walked to the door, he was choked by a cloud of thick smoke.

“Why are you up?” Yan Mingting asked.

“What are you doing?” Zhao Yelan walked in while covering his mouth and nose, and pulled him away from the stove.

“I wanted to make some stuffed steamed buns for you. I just don’t believe it won’t be successful. It’s only that this smoke…..is too choking, cough cough cough cough!” Yan Mingting quickly ran out and coughed a few times before returning to see that Zhao Yelan was holding the tongs, taking a few pieces of firewood out and burying them in the pile of ashes next to him.

“You don’t light it like this, some space should be left in the middle. If you add too much firewood, it will definitely not ignite.”

The smoke became thinner and gradually dissipated, and the fire began to ignite. Yan Mingting looked at him in surprise: “You can light cooking fires?”

“What’s so difficult about it? I lit them every day when I was a child.” Zhao Yelan raised his head as he spoke.

Yan Mingting stared intently at his face smeared with black and his eyes still red from the smoke, and couldn’t help laughing: “Hahahaha!”

Zhao Yelan’s expression darkened, and after setting up the firewood, he went to wash his face. Then he went to take a look at Yan Mingting kneading the dough.

“Can you do this too?” Yan Mingting asked.

“No, kneading the dough was my father’s job.”

“I can do it, hehe,” Yan Mingting said proudly. Intending to show off his kneading skills, he kneaded vigorously a few times and the cutting board flew out.

“……”

“……”

“I’m beginning to wonder if you picked up those buns off the floor that I ate before?”

“How is that possible! This time was just a small mistake!”

“Is the filling ready?”

“Not yet, ba.”

“Let me do it.”

“Aiya, ancestor! You be careful with that knife. Let me do it, you leave it alone.”

After working for a long time, the dough and fillings were ready. Yan Mingting moved over two small benches and said, “Let’s do the filling.”

The two sat at the small table in the kitchen, and Yan Mingting taught him step by step how to make the little pouches. Zhao Yelan looked at that pair of hands accustomed to holding a sword awkwardly cradling the bun, a very serious expression on his face, and the corners of his mouth curled up subconsciously.

When the rooster crowed, a few servants got up and came to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Seeing the two masters standing by the stove, staring at the pot in a daze, they couldn’t help asking, “My Lord, General, what are you doing?”

“Hush,” Yang Mingting said seriously. “Keep it down.”

The servant automatically covered his mouth, walked in lightly, and then heard Zhao Yelan say as he turned his head to stare at the oven: “It’s time, hurry up.”

Yan Mingting quickly and nimbly lifted the tray, and a gust of hot air rushed toward his face.

The servant went over to take a look, and saw about twenty buns steaming in the pot.

“……” That’s it?!

“I’ll taste it first.” Yan Mingting reached in directly and took one. It was a little hot, and he tossed it in the air a few times. Only then did he hold it firmly and take a bite. His eyes lit up, and he boasted: “It’s even better than my previous ones! You try it.”

“Really?” Zhao Yelan lowered his head and took a bite. The taste was indeed better, but it was still far inferior to Mingji’s buns. “Not bad, this time it was a success.”

“That’s great.” Yan Mingting found a food box and packed the twenty or so buns, leading Zhao Yelan back to the room excitedly. “Let’s go eat buns.”

The servants: “…….”

In the morning, Kan Chuan came to the mansion. This was not only to discuss the emperor’s critical illness with Zhao Yelan, but also for the sake of Yan Mingting’s body. Everyone knew about such a big event, and spared no effort to help search all over the country for a good doctor. 

The two talked in a room for more than half an hour, when Zhao Yelan suddenly saw a red string hanging against his chest and asked, “What is that?”

“A safety talisman. Li Niang asked for it for me at Lingyun Temple.” Kan Chuan said, “Didn’t she also ask for one for you?”

Zhao Yelan nodded: “Does it work?”

“It’s only for peace of mind. This thing is all about faith. A few days ago, the child was crying all the time, and I also had a small physical problem, so she went to ask for amulets for the whole family. As a result, both my child and I got better. She insisted that it was because of the safety talismans, so I went along with her. After all, it was her good intentions.” Kan Chuan said with a smile, “She just asked for them from the bottom of the mountain, so they won’t be so useful.”

Zhao Yelan was silent for a moment, then asked again: “What’s wrong with getting them from the bottom of the mountain? Are they not effective?”

“They aren’t bad, it’s just that I’ve heard if you go up the mountain to ask, it will be more effective due to the difficulty of the road, and the nine gods and Buddhas will bless them.”

After the afternoon meal, Yan Mingting passed out again unexpectedly, and Yao Muze administered acupuncture in the room. Zhao Yelan looked on for a while, then called Xiao Gao to go out.

Lingyun Temple was not located in the capital, but in the neighboring county, where incense flourished and there were many believers. A great many people came to the foot of the mountain to seek marriage and safety. Zhao Yelan asked someone to inquire, and many people said that they were effective here, especially if you could walk up the mountain and enter the temple. The gods and Buddha would see your sincerity, and your wishes would be more easily realized.

But so many people remained at the bottom of the mountain because the temple was very high. There were three thousand steps, and the terrain was steep and rugged. Ordinary people would lose half their lives just climbing up.

The monks guarding the foot of the mountain said that the road should not be abandoned halfway, and there was no turning back. If you were not sincere, you would be blamed by the gods and Buddha, so most people were satisfied to worship at the temple at the foot of the mountain.

Xiao Gao looked up at the steep mountain road and said worriedly: “My Lord, you really want to go up? How about I go for you?”

However, as soon as he spoke, Zhao Yelan had already taken the first step.

Wasn’t it just three thousand steps? What was there to fear?

Xiao Gao had followed him and served him for many years, and knew his lord’s physical fitness best. Even Yan Mingting only dared to make him run five laps at the most when he took him out to exercise. These three thousand steps would kill his lord.

However, he couldn’t stop him, and was unable to do anything but watch his lord climb up slowly and stubbornly.

Halfway through the journey, Zhao Yelan’s vision was a little blurred and he stumbled on the ground, but was fortunate to catch himself on the tree next to him and avoid falling down, giving Xiao Gao a fright.

He gazed up the stairway whose end still could not be seen. The sky had already darkened, so he continued to move as if he could no longer feel the pain, just climbing numbly and relying on only one belief to keep him moving on.

As night fell, the two of them climbed in the dark for an unknown amount of time. Xiao Gao called: “My Lord, let’s take a break and eat something.”

Zhao Yelan didn’t dare to stop. He feared that if he stopped, his body would never get up again, and he was even more afraid of wasting time. After being out for so long, he didn’t know if Yan Mingting had woken up. He must have been very worried when he found out he was not at home. He had to return sooner.

Xiao Gao couldn’t persuade him, so he just continued to climb along with him. To be honest, even he, who was adept in martial arts, felt very tired now.

When climbing the last leg, Zhao Yelan was already a little delirious. Rubbing his hands on the steps, he murmured that he was almost there, that he would be able to go back to see Yan Mingting immediately.

When reaching the last step, Xiao Gao cried, sobbing loudly: “Wuwuwuwu My Lord, we’re here! We’re finally here!”

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched, and as soon as he took a step forward, his knees gave way weakly and he fell directly to the ground.

“My Lord!”

“Quickly……take me in quickly,” Zhao Yelan said in a hoarse voice.

Xiao Gao helped him walk into the temple, and felt that the other’s legs seemed almost unable to walk at all. He practically dragged him in.

It was almost midnight now, and there were still monks chanting scriptures in the temple. Seeing them coming, they asked, “Why did the benefactors come so late at night?”

“I want to seek safety for one person,” Zhao Yelan said.

“Follow me this way, please.” A monk led them into the main hall in the rear. The Buddha statue was majestic and silent, but it seemed they could hear the chanting and prayers of the monks outside.

Zhao Yelan knelt down before the statue, slowly raised his eyes, and clasped his hands together, saying piously: “Before, I didn’t believe in gods or Buddha, and never paid homage to you because you never gave me faith. People in the world say heaven has eyes, and that good and evil are rewarded. I did all of the wicked things, so why should the people around me be hurt? I’m not defending or praying for myself, I just beg you to see Yan Mingting.”

“He has never done anything evil in his life, ah.”

“His Yan family has been loyal and good for generations, and he has risked his life for the people of this country. Living on the battlefield for half his life, he has never shown the slightest selfishness. He, Yan Mingting, defeated Mongolia in the north and conquered Nanjiang in the south. One sword brought order to the land. Is it because he is too good, so you all are jealous of a talent?”

“If you can rescue him, I will definitely do more good deeds and worship you more in the future. But if not, I will trample you gods down. Good and evil will be rewarded, what kind of scrap metal gods and Buddhas can’t open their eyes!”

“Benefactor, be careful!” The monk hastily stopped him, and was about to take him away when a figure suddenly appeared beside him.

“Mengting.”

Hearing the voice, Zhao Yelan was startled and quickly turned his head to look over. Yan Mingting stepped forward and bent down to embrace him.

After feeling that warm embrace, Zhao Yelan smiled: “You’re awake.”

“En, when I woke up, I found that you were gone. Uncle Qin said you were here,” Yan Mingting said.

“Are you dizzy?” Zhao Yelan looked up and patted his head.

“Not dizzy.” Yan Mingting looked into his eyes and thought of him climbing here himself, and his eyes turned red uncontrollably. When he was outside the door and heard what he said, his chest was boiling hot. He bowed his head to kiss the other’s lips: “Mengting, heaven is not jealous of talents, I just love you too much. They are jealous that I can be loved by you, so they want to take me away.”

Seeing the two kissing in front of the Buddha statue, the monk went pale in shock, and was about to stop them when Xiao Gao covered his mouth and took him out.

Originally, benefactors who came to the temple to worship Buddha sincerely would be prepared a meal, but the monk felt that they were not sincere, so he canceled their meal.

When the presiding monk heard that it was General Yan, he scolded him for his ignorance, then personally led a group of monks to the main hall and saw that they were still kissing. He hurriedly covered his eyes and retreated, ordering the others in embarrassment: “Go and prepare the vegetarian meal, and remind them later.”

“Yes.”

After the two had eaten, the presiding monk approached and asked if they needed to stay for the night before leaving. Zhao Yelan’s original plan was to go back and see Yan Mingting after worshiping, but since Yan Mingting had come after him, it didn’t matter if he returned or not.

“All right, we’ll go tomorrow.” Yan Mingting took Zhao Yelan’s body into consideration, and after they rested, he massaged him. Zhao Yelan complained of pain wherever he touched, but couldn’t walk at all in the end.

“It seems you must carry me down the mountain,” Zhao Yelan said.

“All right, I’m willing to carry you all my life.” Yan Mingting bowed and kissed him. It got out of control again, but the other was in pain all over his body, so they just continued to kiss.

The next day, the three set off down the mountain. Yan Mingting descended with him on his back and walked very slowly, spending most of the time admiring the scenery along the way.

They couldn’t go outside the city to enjoy the flowers this spring, so they made up for it here. Whenever Yan Mingting saw any flowers or plants, he would ask him what they were. Zhao Yelan explained them to him tirelessly, and when he encountered something he didn’t know, he would say it was a red flower, green leaves, or a big tree.

Xiao Gao laughed heartily when he heard this from behind, and after laughing, he couldn’t help falling into long-term worries — if only they could stay like this forever.

Halfway down the mountain, the three of them sat down to rest for a while. Yan Mingting went to the side to pick a large bouquet of wildflowers. He inserted the most beautiful one into Zhao Yelan’s hair, and gave the rest to him.

Zhao Yelan held the flowers in one hand, with one hand around his neck, laying carefully on his back. He looked down the mountain and said: “You slow down a little, I’m afraid.”

“You won’t be afraid if you call for your husband.”

“…….”

When they returned to the capital, it was already dusk. After the three of them descended the mountain, they hired a carriage to return to the General’s Mansion. Yan Mingting carried him off the carriage and crouched down in front of him again. 

“It’s such a short distance, just help me inside,” Zhao Yelan said.

Yan Mingting insisted on carrying him in, so Zhao Yelan had no choice but to obey him and lie against his back.

However, just a few steps away, he heard someone shouting in the distance: “General, General Yan, Zhao-daren!”

Yan Mingting turned and saw Yao Muze running over in a hurry, followed by a panting old man.

“What is the matter?”

“You’re back!” Yao Muze panted heavily, pointed to the old man behind him, and said, “General, you are saved! Haven’t you been sending people to search for Master’s traces? They found him, this is my master!”

Yan Mingting and Zhao Yelan looked at the old man following him in simultaneous surprise.

“Master went to Nanjiang two years ago, so he lost contact all this time. He also met a very powerful witch doctor in Nanjiang who has thoroughly studied the poisons there! What’s more, that witch doctor just happened to come to Beijing with him this time, and he can detoxify you!” Yao Muze said excitedly.

Yan Mingting’s pupils slowly dilated, and he subconsciously went to hug Zhao Yelan. He turned around in place, overjoyed: “Mengting! Where is Mengting? Where did you go?”

“……On your back.” Zhao Yelan was about to be dizzy because of him.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Eighty-Seven <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-Nine