Zhao Yelan was slightly relieved to hear that he was in the mood to joke around, and led him out of the cave, but heard him say another sentence: “Ah, I haven’t grabbed the tiger skin yet.”

“At this time, what need is there for a tiger skin?” Zhao Yelan quickly called some servants over.

“But it’s for you.” Yan Mingting turned around and was about to go back to get it.

“You wait here, I’ll get it.” Zhao Yelan ordered someone to take care of him and then turned back to get the tiger skin. He just happened to run into Zhao Xuan, who was being helped outside, and asked, “Is His Majesty injured?”

“I’m all right, I……” Before Zhao Xuan finished speaking, he watched him walk out with the tiger skin. “……”

Once they returned to the General’s Mansion, several Imperial physicians and some gifts from the palace arrived soon after. After the Imperial physician treated Yan Mingting’s wounds, he gave some instructions before leaving.

Fortunately, they were only small flesh wounds, and he would be fine after a period of recuperation.

Zhao Yelan still frowned. He changed his clothes and helped him to bed, then stared at his wounds for a long time.

“It’s okay, it’s only a little skin trauma.” Yan Mingting rubbed his head.

“Let’s rest, you’ve had a tiring day,” Zhao Yelan said.

“Okay.” Yan Mingting closed his eyes, and after a long time, he felt someone touch his arm lightly as if to test if he was asleep.

He simply pretended to be asleep.

Immediately afterward, the person next to him touched his arm repeatedly, lingering around the wound but never daring to approach it.

After a while of this, Yan Mingting couldn’t take it anymore and hugged him into his arms with his other hand: “What are you doing so sneakily?”

“You’re awake?” Zhao Yelan asked in belated surprise. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I didn’t fall asleep at all.”

“What is the matter?” Zhao Yelan touched his cheek in the dark, then pressed his fingers to the center of his brow. He found that it was smooth and was relieved. “Did today’s events scare you? Is there something on your mind?”

“This incident was not enough to scare me, but it might have scared the Emperor,” Yan Mingting said gloatingly. “He almost lost his life. Let’s see if he dares to fight a tiger next time.”

“That’s something to worry about.” Seeing that he had fallen silent, Zhao Yelan said, “You two stayed in the cave for so long, did you talk a lot?”

“En.”

“Did you talk about me?” Zhao Yelan asked tentatively.

“En.”

“Did he bring up the past with you?”

“En.”

Zhao Yelan became anxious and propped up half his body, saying: “Did he tell you about my previous visit to the brothel?”

Huh? This?

Yan Mingting took advantage of the hazy moonlight to clearly see the expression on his face, and didn’t say a word. Zhao Yelan mistakenly thought this was a silent affirmation, and took the initiative to explain: “I went to see Gu Niaoniao. I had bumped into her on the street, and only then did I know she had gone to Hongxiu House.”

At the age of sixteen, Zhao Yelan had gone out to run errands for Zhao Xuan, but ran into Gu Niaoniao, who was being dragged by the madam to buy a dress. She was lecturing her to treat the guests well, and that if she dared to show her temper, she would be stripped naked and thrown in the moat.

That was their reunion after the few years since they had left the dungeons. At first, he only thought she looked familiar. After all, the girl’s attire was very different from how she looked in the dungeon a few years ago. But upon closer inspection, those eyes were still full of hatred, the same as his, but different.

He had learned to hide the hatred in his heart, not in his eyes.

That night, he took some money and went to Hongxiu House to pick up a few girls. Among them was Gu Niaoniao. Zhao Yelan stunned the others by asking her: “Do you want to stay or run away?”

“I want to stay,” Gu Niaoniao said in a heavy voice, and rolled up her sleeves to show him some red rashes on her hands. “If I’m disobedient, the madam will poison me and make my life worse than death. There will be no scars, just some red rashes that disappear in a couple of days. I want to let her have a taste of this. Please help me.”

Zhao Yelan: “What can you do for me?”

Gu Niaoniao: “I can do anything. Money, looks, body……you can have whatever you want.”

Zhao Yelan heard a lord’s voice from upstairs, talking about court secrets to the woman in his bed, and curled his lower lip silently: “Good. I don’t need anything else, I just need you to be my ears.”

That night, Gu Niaoniao handed him the knife: “I don’t want to pick up any more customers, please do me another favor.”

Zhao Yelan was silent for a moment, then said: “Do it yourself, ba. If you can’t be cruel to yourself, what revenge can you take?”

“You’re right.” Gu Niaoniao laughed for a long time. Then, facing the mirror, she made a long, slanted slash from the top of her eyebrow. Blood flowed down, obscuring her face.

Afterwards, Zhao Xuan heard that Zhao Yelan had quarreled with a brothel girl and cut her face apart, so he hurried over to bring Zhao Yelan back and paid a large amount of money to the brothel madam and Gu Niaoniao to settle the matter.

Yan Mingting listened to his detailed explanation. After thinking it over, it was no wonder why Gu Niaoniao’ scar was a bit strange. There would be differences in the details between injuries caused at other people’s hands and those caused by your own. It was just that he hadn’t examined the woman’s face carefully, so he didn’t notice these details. While hugging Zhao Yelan tightly, he felt that just a few sentences about his past were enough to frighten people.

Noticing his silence, Zhao Yelan began to ponder again: “Could it be he spoke of something else? Did he say that I defrauded him of money? Or that I wore a red shirt and was knocked unconscious by a cow?”

Huh??

“What cow?” Yan Mingting became interested.

As soon as Zhao Yelan heard this tone, he knew that the other didn’t know, so he kept silent.

“How did it hit you? Tell me about it.” Yan Mingting couldn’t hold back, and chuckled a bit.

Zhao Yelan: “Stop talking, go to bed!”

Yan Mingting failed to learn from him how he was knocked unconscious by a cow, but he was not in a hurry to know the answer for a while. Anyway, the future would be long, and sooner or later he would learn bit by bit from him.

The lingering gloom in his heart also dissipated.

Even if Zhao Xuan grew up with him, what he had was Zhao Yelan’s present and future.

Because of his injuries, the Emperor specially spared him from going to early court, and asked Yan Mingting to fully recover before returning.

This made Yan Mingting very comfortable.

Every morning, he stayed in bed until Zhao Yelan opened his eyes, and then got up with him. After breakfast, he sent him to the Imperial Academy in a sedan chair. At dusk, he went to pick him up in a sedan chair.

And because of his inconvenient legs and feet, Zhao Yelan showed the greatest care to him. He wouldn’t get angry easily, and would chant the Diamond Sutra silently, then go to the study to calm down.

Yan Mingting lived a comfortable life, wandering around the courtyard with a walking stick all day long. Once Zhao Yelan returned home, he circled him like a puppy, asking him if he was tired from work, if his hand was sore from writing, and if his clothes were warm enough……

Usually, Zhao Yelan would answer all his questions, but if he had business to do, he would just be asked to sit farther away. If he was still disobedient, Zhao Yelan would simply give him a firm kiss and he would behave himself, thinking shyly and timidly about when he would be able to get another kiss.

After more than ten days of comfortable living, Yan Mingting felt dissatisfied again at night. He took Zhao Yelan’s hand and stretched it down: “Mengting……”

“Your leg is broken, why are you still thinking about that?” Zhao Yelan said coolly.

“It’s not broken, it’s almost healed.” Yan Mingtin arched his head flatteringly. “Mengting……”

“You can’t hurt your legs again at a critical moment, you had best lie down and recuperate.”

Yan Mingting turned over and pressed him down, saying: “In fact, my legs have recovered early. If you don’t believe me, do you want to try?”

“Of course I know your legs recovered early,” Zhao Yelan said unhappily. “Aren’t you tired of putting fake gauze on every day?”

“Ah, you saw that?” Yan Mingting smiled, and was stopped by Zhao Yelan when he started tugging on his clothes.

“Go away.” Zhao Yelan kicked him to the end of the bed. “Did you forget what you said at dinner?”

Yan Mingting’s smile froze.

A group of military lieutenants, along with Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu, were specially invited over for dinner today. Because today was He Cuizhang’s birthday, drinks were continuously refilled during the banquet.

Yan Mingting had stared at Zhao Yelan intently, and Zhao Yelan wondered: “What are you doing?”

“I want to eat a dumpling, you feed it to me.”

“You don’t have hands, ah?”

“It hurts, and I can’t lift it up.”

Zhao Yelan looked at him silently. With a slight smile, he picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth with gritted teeth.

Yan Mingting was so proud. He raised his eyebrows at his subordinates, making everyone’s teeth sore.

“You can’t even lift your hands, and it’s even more impossible for you to lift your feet, so you should just stay there,” Zhao Yelan said.

As long as you committed evil, you would be punished, ah. Yan Mingting could only crawl back and lie down obediently.

Winter started early this year, and in the blink of an eye, the cold wind picked up and blew into people’s faces with bone-piercing pain.

When Zhao Yelan walked out of the Imperial Academy, his hair was tossed up by the wind. He gathered the collar of his cloak, walked outside, and saw Yan Mingting standing in front of the sedan chair some distance away.

The other party also noticed his figure and walked up to him in a few steps, reaching out his hands to hold his cold face.

Those palms were very warm. Zhao Yelan exhaled: “Didn’t I tell you not to come?”

He came to the Imperial Academy to pick him up and drop him off every day, and his colleagues in the courtyard laughed at him. It was fine once or twice, but if it happened too often, even if he pretended not to hear, it was inevitable that he would feel a little embarrassed.

“The weather has changed today, I was afraid you would catch a cold. I really won’t come tomorrow.”

“You said the same thing yesterday.”

Yan Mingting smiled, then glanced behind him at the approaching Ruan Xian.

“My lord left in a hurry and left something behind. I just came to give it to you.” Ruan Xian smiled in embarrassment. He felt that he had found the reason why Yan Mingting hated him. It must be because he spoiled their happy occasions!

When passing by them, Ruan Xian saw that Yan Mingting was still holding Zhao Yelan’s face. He bowed his head and pretended not to see anything, handed the book in his hands to Zhao Yelan, then turned around and ran away.

Mother, he hadn’t done such a sweet thing in his life, but now that he had learned it, he would put it to use when he went home!

Zhao Yelan sat in the sedan chair and rubbed his hands. It was much warmer inside.

Yan Mingting placed the hot water bottle prepared in advance into his hands and asked with a smile: “Why were you in such a hurry that you left things behind?”

Zhao Yelan put his hands on the hot water bottle to keep warm, but didn’t answer him.

Smiling, Yan Mingting asked: “Were you rushing out to see me?”

Zhao Yelan still didn’t say a word, just raised his eyes to glance at him lightly with a hint of hesitation. Yan Mingting’s heart swayed, and he turned his head and kissed the ends of his eyes.

The General’s Mansion was already lit up. As soon as he went to the bedroom, Zhao Yelan removed his cloak and looked at the tiger skin on the bed. It was truly unsightly.

“Can it be changed for another?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Another won’t be as nice and warm.”

“It’s too ugly.”

“It’s warm.”

“…….”

Soon, Yan Mingting also felt that the tiger skin had to be replaced. After the two of them sweated profusely at night, some tiger hairs were stuck to their bodies. He took a bath with the man in his arms and threw the tiger skin aside, then changed the bed to a simple blanket and fell asleep with that person in his arms.

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month of winter, and the vassal kings and envoys all over the country came to Beijing one after another. The capital was bustling again for a while.

Yan Mingting was in charge of defense at this time. The commander of the Imperial Army had been dismissed due to his laziness and dereliction of duty in the hunting grounds last time.

On New Year’s Day, the emperor held a grand banquet and invited guests from all over the nation to share a feast. Only officials of the fourth rank and above could participate.

Xiao Gao changed Zhao Yelan’s clothes, dressing him thickly and adding an apricot-colored cloak, saying: “The General said to have my lord go over early, and he will join you soon.”

Yan Mingting had gone out to court before dawn. He was busy all afternoon and hadn’t returned.

“I understand.” Zhao Yelan was traveling toward the palace in a sedan chair, and when he heard the bustling voices outside, he raised the curtain to take a look. Some family’s lady was sitting in a carriage, grandly pulling out a few boxes of things as people around stopped to watch.

The carriage and sedan chair drew close, and it happened that the owner of that carriage lifted the curtain, revealing a haughty face.

It was the Eighth Princess of Southern Nanjiang.

Just as Zhao Yelan was about to look away, he suddenly noticed a peddler on the side of the road. He ordered Xiao Gao to go shopping, and stopped the sedan chair to wait for the princess to leave first.

After entering the palace gate, many colleagues had already arrived. Kan Chuan approached him unobtrusively and murmured in a low voice: “I saw the Princess of Nanjiang just now, did she come to make peace through marriage?”

“It is possible, just wait and see.”

“En.” Kan Chuan turned around and greeted other colleagues naturally.

Seats had been arranged in the main hall, and everyone sat according to their positions. Zhao Yelan stopped at the entrance and sought out Yan Mingting’s figure in the vast crowd. His back was turned to him as he talked with several people.

The other party seemed to sense it and looked back, smiling upon seeing him. He pointed him to a certain table and motioned for him to sit down first.

Logically speaking, as a fourth-rank official, Zhao Yelan could not sit in the front row. But this table was obviously arranged by Yan Mingting and could only seat two people, so he sat down with poise.

At the next table was the Prime Minister. Li Jinyu turned his head with a smile and spoke to him in a low voice: “I haven’t had time to thank Zhao-daren face-to-face. My son has finally become sensible these days.”

Zhao Yelan nodded: “You can rest assured and let him do it, ba. Even if he suffers a loss, he will be fine.”

“Yes, yes, yes, I protected him too well.” Li Jinyu sighed.

While the two were talking, the princess and king of Southern Nanjiang passed by them and sat down at the table in front, followed by the Mongolian Kingdom, envoys from the Western Regions, and vassals from all over the world.

Everyone had arrived, and Zhao Xuan led the Empress and Sun Muyun out.

Sun Muyun’s belly had grown a lot, and now that she had been promoted to a new position, her status was different from in the past. She could even attend this kind of event with the Emperor and Empress.

She sat down and looked around with a smile, and after spotting Zhao Yelan, she smiled sincerely with shining white teeth.

At this moment, Yan Mingting also returned and sat down beside him, ignoring the Emperor, who was greeting others. He took out a bag of peanuts from his bosom and asked quietly: “Are you hungry?”

“I’m fine.” Zhao Yelan was worried that he would not have a chance to eat at such a time, so he came here after eating some snacks. But as soon as he finished speaking, Yan Mingting handed over the shelled peanuts.

The two of them were sneaking peanuts here, and Zhao Yelan turned to see that Li Jinyu was looking at them eagerly, so he kindly gave him a handful.

Not long after, Li Jinyu’s table mate also looked over eagerly.

Zhao Yelan: “…….”

In total, Yan Mingting had hidden three bags of peanuts. He divided up two bags among the people behind and left only one bag, saying that he would not give it to anyone else.

He cracked the peanuts with skill, controlling his strength and not making a sound, but the others couldn’t. Seeing that he had already cracked his, they immediately cracked theirs.

The Emperor and the envoys of the vassal kings in front heard the sounds of peanuts being eaten, and the people who were talking stopped awkwardly.

Sitting at the top, Sun Muyun had already noticed Yan Mingting and Zhao Yelan’s small movements, and wished she could sit with them and eat peanuts. But then she felt that just looking at the two of them was very fascinating, especially watching them head to head, secretly talking and making small gestures. It was too sweet, even sweeter than the sweet soup she drank today!

Zhao Xuan coughed, and everyone seemed to have been caught in the act. They immediately stopped and looked straight ahead, remaining silent as they continued to listen to their conversation.

After Yan Mingting fed the last peanut to Zhao Yelan, he sighed. He hadn’t expected this group of people to be so useless!

Zhao Yelan tugged his sleeve at this time, and when he looked to the side, he saw Zhao Yelan staring straight ahead while he took out bright tanghulu from his sleeve and passed it to him under the table.

Yan Mingting’s eyes lit up. He took it and tore off the candy wrapper, lowering his head to bite into one. He put his right hand on the table, propped up his forehead, and covered half his face so as not to alert the Emperor. He secretly took a bite and asked Zhao Yelan with his eyes.

Zhao Yelan glanced at the golden throne and nodded, indicating that no one had noticed his movements.

Yan Mingting took another bite. It was sweet and delicious.

After eating one, he tugged Zhao Yelan’s sleeve again, motioning for him to eat one too.

Seeing his expectant eyes, Zhao Yelan lowered his head to take a bite. Yan Mingting immediately took another one, and the two of them looked at each other and smiled. They didn’t even hear Zhao Xuan call, “Yan-qing, Zhao-qing.”

Everyone looked at them one after another. Zhao Yelan was taken aback for a moment, and then looked up belatedly.

Zhao Xuan asked: “Just now, the King of Nanjiang proposed to marry the Princess to Yan-qing in order to form a good relationship. What do you think?”

“Ah, this matter……” Zhao Yelan looked over as if nothing had happened, and simply stopped pretending. First he blatantly bit the tanghulu in his mouth and then replied leisurely, “I don’t agree.”

Yan Mingting was incredibly attracted by his handsomeness and perfectly imitated his actions, chewing the tanghulu dashingly: “I also don’t agree.”

---

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

Taohua lay motionless on the bed. Her face was pale and her breath was like gossamer.

Her mother had already reached the mountain and was sitting next to her, wiping away tears.

Auntie Hua was also at a loss: “She looked fine this morning, but in the afternoon she seemed a little hot and lethargic. I thought it was heatstroke, so I told her to go back to sleep first, thinking that when Doctor A-Ning was free, he could take time to have a look…..ai!”

“Poison.” Liu Xian’an placed her hand back under the blanket. “What did she have to eat today?”

“A big pot of rice, everyone eats the same thing. But there was also a bag of rice cakes. Could there be a problem with the rice cakes?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “Many people ate them, including me. It isn’t the rice cakes or the big pot of rice. Think about it, was there anything else?”

“There really wasn’t anything else.” The other chattered, “This is just a mountain. There are no snacks to coax the little ones, and no one has the ability to find extra food. Could it be that Taohua was playing on her own and picked some poisonous fruits or mushrooms outside?”

Indeed, there was such a possibility.

Only Taohua’s mother said urgently: “My girl doesn’t have the habit of eating indiscriminately outside. She has been spoiled by her father and I. She didn’t even want to eat the fruit I brought her, and loves cleanliness, so why would she suddenly pick wild things and stuff them into her mouth?”

“But she was indeed poisoned,” Liu Xian’an said, “And very seriously.”

“Ah?” Taohua’s mother’s whole body went limp, and she almost slipped to the ground. Auntie Hua hurriedly supported her and rubbed her back comfortingly.

Liu Xian’an continued: “To cure the poison, we must first identify the poison that caused this. Otherwise, I can’t tell just based on the pulse.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Qiu Daxing called, “I will take some strong men with torches and search the mountain overnight to see what looks beautiful and edible, and bring them all back for the doctor to check. The rest will enter the mountain in batches tomorrow.”

That was all that could be done for now.

A group of concerned people stood in the room, unable to help. They were only blocking the way and adding to the confusion, so they left one after another. In the end, only Auntie Hua and A-Ning were left to care for Taohua.

Liu Xian’an went out to stop Qiu Daxing and pulled him to a secluded place to tell him separately: “Ten days at most. If she doesn’t wake up within ten days, even if she can be saved, Taohua is very likely to be paralyzed in bed for the rest of her life. Just based on the condition of her pulse, I really can’t guess what poison it is. The appearance is too common – there are at least a thousand different poisons in the world that can cause the same pulse, so it is up to you.”

“Is it so serious?” Qiu Daxing was worried upon hearing this. “Okay, everyone has watched Taohua grow up, and love her very much. We will do our best and start now.”

Liu Xian’an nodded and turned to go back, but out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark figure in the shadows. He was startled, and upon looking closely, he found that it was Sang Yannian.

“Doctor Sang?” he asked, nonplussed. “Why are you standing there without saying a word?”

“I saw that Miracle Doctor Liu was talking to someone, so I didn’t want to disturb him.” Doctor Sang walked into the light. “How is Taohua?”

“Not good,” Liu Xian’an said truthfully. “She was poisoned and is dying. Everyone guessed that she might have eaten wild fruits or mushrooms outside. Doctor Sang is a local, do you know what kinds of poison can be found in Dakan Mountain?”

“No,” Doctor Sang said, “I rarely come here.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t expect to get anything useful from him, so he casually changed the subject: “Doctor Sang said in the morning that he would learn to detoxify Gu, why didn’t he come in the afternoon?”

Sang Yannian lowered his eyes. “Oh, I was a little tired in the morning, so I went back to my room and took a nap.”

When he said this, he unknowingly clenched the hand hanging by his side. The accident happened after Taohua drank her bowl of medicine. Her limbs twitched and she foamed at the mouth, which was obviously a symptom of poisoning. Sang Yannian was frightened out of his wits. After reading her pulse for a long time, he saw that Taohua had stopped struggling and put his hand tremblingly in front of her nose, but she had already stopped breathing. He suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning and staggered, falling several steps toward the door and finally leaving the mess behind as he fled without hesitation.

Sang Yannian asked: “How long can Taohua last?”

“If we can’t find out what kind of poison it is, ten days at most,” Liu Xian’an said. “If we can pinpoint the poison, maybe we can save her. The longer the delay, the more damage to the organs and brain.”

Sang Yannian nodded and said nothing.

He had prepared the medicine, so he naturally knew what was in it, but it was nothing more than some common medicinal herbs to clear away heat and dispel fire. How could that be like drinking poison? Sang Yannian was anxious, and after parting with Liu Xian’an, he took advantage of everyone’s inattention and snuck into the pharmacy again after dark. According to his memory of the day, he used the weak candlelight to go through everything one by one – goldthread, bupleurum, gentian, green-red root, black beetle, liquor cane…..wait!

Sang Yannian felt that there seemed to be something wrong. When procuring medicine during the day, the black beetle seemed to have been placed not here, but in the southeast corner, so high up that ordinary people couldn’t touch it. At that time, he wondered why it was placed so far apart from the medicinal herbs that were clearly used together with gentian.

Relying on this memory, he found that cabinet from earlier in the day – ant wings, snake saliva, centipede hooks, black……black beetle?

Sang Yannian rubbed his eyes and took another, closer look. It was indeed black beetle.

Highly toxic things such as snakes, centipedes, and scorpions, were used by Liu Xian’an to dip the needles in and extract Gu. He had just heard the lecture this morning. Each time, one could only use the thinnest needle and quickly dip it in. A slightly larger amount would paralyze half of the patient’s body and cause unbearable pain.

But he treated it as a heat-clearing black beetle and let Taohua drink a full cup.

Sang Yannian was so distraught that he tidied up the things left in his hands and left the pharmacy in a hurry. He was very upset now, upset at himself for not looking a little more carefully when taking the medicine. Why did he not notice the out-of-place medicinal materials and investigate it carefully? He even regretted sitting on the side of the path in the afternoon and meeting Taohua, and prescribing her medicine.

He also considered that he could tell Liu Xian’an the truth. In this way, Taohua might be saved. He actually loved that little girl very much, not to mention that Taohua’s parents were some of the few people in Chixia City who had never quarreled with him.

But before he took two steps, another voice in his head said, it’s useless, it’s hopeless.

Even a strong adult man couldn’t handle the highly toxic black beetle, let alone a little girl. If he told the truth and Taohua still died, wouldn’t he carry this sin for the rest of his life and be cursed behind his back forever?

Sang Yannian stopped and hesitated again. After thinking for a long time, he gritted his teeth and slapped himself. He stomped his feet fiercely and crouched on the ground with his head in his arms, whimpering, but didn’t have the courage to go to Liu Xian’an in the end.

On the other side, Liang Shu had already brought some people up the mountain, firstly to maintain order there, and secondly to help search nearby.

“A-Yue will reside on the mountain these few days,” Liang Shu said. “You and A-Ning have to remove Gu for the common people, so you can’t busy yourself with this many things. It just so happens that she has been a military doctor, so she understands general medical theory, and it is more convenient for her to take care of the girl personally.”

Liu Xian’an sat at the table, rubbing his throbbing temples: “En.”

Liang Shu poured him a cup of water: “I have one more thing to confirm with you.”

“I know what the prince is worried about,” Liu Xian’an said, “but don’t be worried. Although Taohua has symptoms of fever, malaise, and vomiting, she is definitely not infected with the plague. Her illness is caused by poisoning. This is not the beginning of a new round of disaster, and has nothing to do with Chixia City. It is her own misfortune.”

Liang Shu breathed a sigh of relief: “All right.”

He added: “It’s not that I don’t have faith in you, but it concerns the common people, so of course I wanted to inquire more clearly.”

Liu Xian’an set down the empty teacup and sighed again: “I hope Qiu Daxing and the others can find the source of the poison soon.”

Outside, the whole mountain was illuminated by fire. 

There were not many people in the first half of the night, but in the second half, more and more people from the city rushed over, and everyone spontaneously formed teams to divide Dakan Mountain into search areas. In the beginning, they looked for brightly colored edible things, but then they thought, who knows what a curious little girl would put into her mouth? When they saw new kinds of grass, leaves, and wild fruits, they plucked them and took them all back to show Doctor Liu. When the table was full, they were placed on the ground; when the ground was full, they were spread out to dry in the yard. In the end, when Liu Xian’an got up the next day, he was almost blocked in and couldn’t move.

Although A-Ning could understand the kindness of the people, he still felt that there was no need to work hard to carry back the branch as tall as a person that was in front of him.

Liang Shu had also spent the night on the mountain. He looked at the messy pile of things in front of him and scolded: “What a farce!”

“They also care about Taohua.” Liu Xian’an put on gloves and rummaged through everything. 

Liang Shu said: “If the consequence of caring is causing chaos, then it is better not to care, so that people can live a more peaceful life.”

Liu Xian’an also agreed with this point of view, but now that everything had been moved over, he only looked through it all and directed Qiu Daxing to throw it out like A-Ning was doing, and finally sifted out just one bright red fruit.

“Is this it?” Liang Shu asked.

“Snakehead beads are poisonous, but they taste sour and bitter. People would normally never eat them.” Liu Xian’an picked up the red fruit. “And the toxicity is not high. Even if Taohua really ate some, it would take five or six catties to cause her current symptoms, so this cannot be it.”

Qiu Daxing watched him toss the red fruit out, and said anxiously: “There is nothing else on the mountain.”

Liu Xian’an said: “But it is really not any of these.”

The surrounding people looked at each other in blank dismay. If these were all wrong, then what exactly did Taohua eat?

Qiu Daxing probed: “Then, then shall I expand the search?”

“No need,” Liang Shu said. “A seven or eight-year-old girl couldn’t have run too far. Since nothing outside fits, that means that the thing that poisoned her is not outside.”

If not outside, then it was inside. Liu Xian’an suddenly remembered the pharmacy.

He hadn’t thought about it before because he was fully aware of what was in there. It was true that there were poisonous substances, but they were sealed and stored properly, placed high where Taohua could never reach them. And she was not stupid, how could she pick a poisonous insect for no reason and stuff it into her mouth?

But now all other possibilities had been ruled out, and only this one was left. So no matter how unbelievable it was, this must be it.

Liu Xian’an and Liang Shu went to the pharmacy together. The poisonous insects were taken out by A-Ning every day. He climbed to the top shelf with the ladder and after careful inspection, he said in shock: “Young Master, this place has really been disturbed!”

“What is missing?” Liu Xian’an asked.

“This……I can’t tell.” A-Ning was puzzled. “The medicine boxes are connected together. When one is moved, the whole three rows and five layers will be moved. And the remaining amount of medicinal materials is about the same as before. If a little bit is missing, I really can’t tell.”

Liu Xian’an could only pick out all the poisons that might cause Taohua’s symptoms. There were eight kinds in total.

Going down the list, it was impossible to filter them out or try all the antidotes for the poisons. Firstly, Taohua’s body couldn’t handle so many medicines, secondly, antidote A was very likely to be poison B, and thirdly, no one knew if she ate one kind or several kinds. No matter how clever Second Young Master Liu was, he really couldn’t guess this many answers.

A-Ning came down from the ladder: “But why was she suddenly given poison? Everyone here likes Taohua, and her parents are honest and hardworking people. They’re very popular.”

“There is no telling what is in a person’s heart.” Liu Xian’an stood by the table, looking at the pile of poisons in front of him.

Liang Shu said: “I have a solution.”

“En?” Liu Xian’an turned to look at him. “The prince has a solution?”

“Make Taohua wake up first.”

“…….”

Liu Xian’an deflated. He didn’t understand what the other party meant. Wasn’t the problem now that Taohua couldn’t wake up?

Liang Shu leaned closer to his ear and whispered a few words.

Liui Xian’an’s eyelid twitched: “Is that so?”

Liang Shu nodded: “Just so.”

Liu Xian’an said: “All right, then I’ll try this method.”

He didn’t have time for lunch, so he asked A-Ning to take the medicine box and went to Taohua’s room.

The little girl lying on the bed looked worse than yesterday, and half of the blood was gone from her face. Cheng Suyue stood up: “She convulsed twice in the middle of the night. It happened that Sang Yannian was here, so he gave her two needles and now the fever has subsided a bit.”

“Cheng-guniang worked hard all night. Go back and rest first, ba,” Liu Xian’an said. “Leave this to me. The prince just taught me a folk remedy. We’ll try and see if it works.”

Hearing this, Auntie Hua on the side cheered up and became energetic at once: “Really? It turns out that the prince also has medical skills?”

Cheng Suyue’s face said, “I don’t understand, I’m shocked.” When did my family’s prince learn folk remedies for toxins? He can even take the wrong cold medicine by mistake, can he really heal others?

“En,” Liu Xian’an said, “Let’s give it a try.”

He pushed back the others, leaving only A-Ning and Taohua’s mother, and began to give acupuncture.

Auntie Hua was a fast-talking person, and also blindly worshiped His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. She felt that since it was the prince’s recipe, it was guaranteed to work. Maybe the Imperial doctor in the palace treated the empress like this. Thus, she celebrated in advance and talked about it with everyone.

“Really?” 

“Of course it’s true.”

The common people gathered at the door of Taohua’s room one after another, craned their necks to look in the door, and dared not even breathe loudly.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, A-Ning’s voice suddenly came from the room: “Ah, she really seems to be waking up soon!”

Sang Yannian’s face in the crowd turned pale in an instant, and he almost fell to the ground.

…….Waking up?

T/N: I know I said I wouldn’t update this story as often, but I can’t stop. Although it is by far the least popular of my translations, it is also my favorite.

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Chapter Seventeen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Nineteen

Everyone who entered the door was a guest. Although His Royal Highness Xiao Wang came here every time without an invitation, every time without clothes, every time not wanting to talk about the dao, and always wanting to drive all his friends into troubled times, Second Young Master Liu still didn’t regard him as a dangerous person. He even thought that it was okay to be like this now – because if he wasn’t bathing, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang would definitely run around with his very long sword, stirring up trouble in all directions, and maybe even beat people. So it was better to take a bath.

Liang Shu asked: “What are you laughing at?”

In any case, he could be more informal and presumptuous in a dream. Liu Xian’an sat cross-legged on the shore, propped up his head with his hands, and said: “I’m laughing at how the prince came out without any clothes.”

Liang Shu was not stumped by this answer. He held a silver cup in his hand and raised his head to drink the fine liquid: “All the flowers and trees in the Three Thousand Ways were created with your spirit. There are lofty buildings in the east where one can catch the stars and embrace the moon, and in the west, there are big ships with wings that can travel with Kun.^[1] That glass hall at the peak of Taihang Mountain is even more beautiful than the residence of Emperor Brother, and ten suns rise in the sky at the same time, illuminating everything in the world. Since Second Young Master Liu can recreate all the records in these ancient books one by one with no trouble at all, why doesn’t he want to give this lord a spare piece of clothing?”

Liu Xian’an was instantly and accurately hit in the heart.

Liang Shu looked at him with a smile. In reality, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang rarely smiled like this. There was no killing intent in this smile, no mocking or ridicule. Just a smile, as if he was completely relaxed in this beautiful world. He opened his mouth and asked: “Is there any more wine?”

Liu Xian’an stood up: “There is another jar, which I hid a long time ago.”

On the way to get the wine, he thought hard, ‘put on clothes, put on clothes.’ He thought all the way to the wine cellar, and came out with the jar in his arms, still thinking that he must put on clothes. But before he got to the waterfall, the world shook violently. 

Not good! Liu Xian’an quickened his pace, wanting to deliver the wine to Liang Shu before he awoke from the dream, but A-Ning’s strength was too great. He lay down next to his ear and shouted loudly: “Young — Master — Get — Up — La!”

The sound rushed into the dream like a typhoon and scattered all the scenery. The fragments were like thousands of butterflies, fluttering in all directions.

In the end, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang still didn’t get to drink that good wine.

A-Ning pushed him up from the bed: “It’s almost noon.”

Liu Xian’an sat on the bed with sleep-mussed hair and refused to move. After a long time, he let out a long sigh and went to fall back again, but A-Ning was on guard and held his shoulders tightly with both hands: “Young Master cannot go on a mental journey anymore, people waiting for medical treatment have already formed a long line, and everyone finished bathing half an hour ago.”

Second Young Master Liu could no longer hear the word “bathing” without his brain hurting. He sat on the edge of the bed and stepped into his soft shoes, still looking like he wasn’t awake. While staring at A-Ning bustling back and forth, he asked in a hoarse voice: “Show me that dream-interpretation book you read a while ago.”

“I didn’t bring it out, it’s at home.” A-Ning wrung out a handkerchief. “Did the young master dream?”

Second Young Master Liu asked: “If I always dream of a person bathing, what does that mean?”

“Ah?” A-Ning also felt that this dream was very strange, but there was no such thing in the dream interpretation book, so he analyzed it himself. “That may mean that the young master really wants to see them take a bath. He thinks about it every day and dreams about it every night. Who is that person bathing? Do I know them?”

Liu Xian’an replied quietly: “It’s His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.”

A-Ning’s wrists softened, and he almost dropped the basin.

Liu Xian’an asked: “I want to watch him bathe?”

“You don’t want to.” A-Ning shook his head firmly. “I will cook another pot of soothing soup for you before going to bed.” Before, Xiao Hong in the village always dreamt of ghosts, and used this soup to exorcize demons. Similarly, it should be able to exorcize His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

After Liu Xian’an washed up, A-Ning brought breakfast, which was the red bean pastries newly delivered to the mountain. More and more people were returning home after recovery, and the reputation of Miracle Doctor Liu became better and better. Although there was nothing in Chixia City recently, everyone insisted on sending a bowl of rice or a pot of honey, and it was different every day.

“I also sent some to the person lying next door,” A-Ning said. “He looks much better today, at least he can get up.”

The person lying next door was Doctor Sang Yannian. He was truly frightened by Du Jing’s corpse, having nightmares and vomiting after eating. In the words of the people on the mountain, he was like a woman who was pregnant with a demon’s child. A-Ning didn’t want to bother with him at first, but seeing how pitiful he was later, he took the time to prescribe a few decoctions to cure his fits of panic.

Liu Xian’an didn’t understand how a doctor could be afraid of corpses, and did not want to understand. After breakfast, he went to see patients again. The common people were lined up neatly in the open space, talking, laughing, and basking in the sun. It was very orderly.

Taohua was also there. The Gu worms in her body had been removed, but because of her young age, Liu Xian’an purposely had her stay on the mountain for a while and then go down after she fully recuperated. Taohua’s parents were grateful to the miracle doctor, so they naturally had no objections to this proposal, and would take the initiative to go up the mountain to help when they had the time. The little girl dashed to and fro among the crowd, and when she was tired from running, she went to go hide in a cool room, but bumped into someone.

“Ouch!” She was knocked back.

“Be careful.” The man steadied her.

Taohua staggered before standing up straight. When she looked up, it turned out to be Doctor Sang from the city. She knew this from when she went with her father once to the shop to get medicine.

“Doctor Sang,” she took the initiative to greet, “Are you cured?”

Sang Yannian’s face turned red when the girl asked this: “Yes.” Then he lowered his voice. “Everyone knows I was sick?”

“En, we all know,” Taohua said. “Everyone is talking about it.”

“What are they……” Sang Yannian originally wanted to ask what they were saying, but knew in his heart that it would definitely not be good, so he cut short the conversation. “Go and play, I’ll go have a look.”

He tidied up his clothes before going to the open area. The people would definitely not make fun of him in plain view. Everyone knew that Sang Yannian wanted to save face. He was small-minded and prone to retaliation, so in order not to come to grief, they were all friendly: “Doctor Sang is here.”

Sang Yannian stood beside Liu Xian’an and said in a small voice: “I’m here to help.”

Liu Xian’an asked him to move a chair closer: “Just sit and watch for a while, Doctor Sang. I will explain it to you while removing the worms.”

Sang Yannian nodded repeatedly: “Okay.”

He inwardly made up his mind to save face this time.

. . . . 

At the government office at the foot of the mountain.

Taohua’s mother sent another basket of yam rice cakes made in the shape of rabbits and decorated with red dots of plum blossoms. Each of them looked very cute, and she urged the miracle doctor to eat more so as to strengthen the spleen and nourish the stomach.

After Cheng Suyue finished testing them for toxins, she was about to have someone send them up the mountain, but was cut off by His Royal Highness Xiao Wang on the way. While preparing the horse, she asked: “Why does the prince always go to Dakan Mountain recently?”

Liang Shu replied: “Because the scenery is beautiful.”

Cheng Suyue didn’t understand. It was just a bare green mountain. Although it was true that all kinds of flowers were blooming in summer, eight of ten mountains were just like this. How beautiful could the scenery be that it was worth going to see it again and again? She saw before that even Xuan Jiao recognized the path. The horse would flick its head at the fork in the road and rumble like wind and thunder around the turn without even the slightest hesitation.

It was the same this time. Cheng Suyue hadn’t yet saddled it, and the horse was stomping on the spot, shaking its head and snorting. The words “can’t wait” could be vividly interpreted as it even sprayed the girl with saliva.

Cheng Suyue patted the horse’s rump and scolded with a smile: “Shameful thing, you don’t have a wife on the mountain, so why are you in a hurry every day?”

She turned around after scolding and met the prince’s half-smile. A sudden coldness penetrated her brain and goose bumps popped up all over her body.

She didn’t speak, and didn’t dare move.

Liang Shu took the box of snacks from her hands. “Ten days’ pay will be deducted.”

“Ah?” Cheng Suyue cried, “I won’t scold it next time, okay?”

“No good.” Liang Shu mounted his horse. “This will let you improve your memory so that you can save yourself from talking nonsense later.”

“But…..” Cheng Suyue watched Xuan Jiao all the way as it left, and muttered with heartache for her ten days of pay, “But I’m not wrong.”

There was indeed no wife on that mountain, ah!

Only Second Young Master Liu’s little red horse had not been in a good mood recently, because A-Ning wanted it to lose weight and cut down on its snack food. It was chewing the tasteless hay in the stable at this time, and when it heard Xuan Jiao neighing in the distance, it didn’t even blink an eye.

Liu Xian’an also heard Xuan Jiao’s cry. He stood up and stretched, telling the people in line to go back and eat first before returning in the afternoon. He went back to the house, and sure enough, he saw a snack box on the table. After washing his hands, he opened it and saw the cute bunnies.

Liang Shu came through the door, carrying a small jug of wine with a strong aroma and a red seal.

Liu Xian’an asked: “Is there anyone in the city getting married?”

“Who would choose to get married at such a time? The restaurants can’t even seat ten tables,” Liang Shu said. “This is the wine that Shi Hanhai buried under a tree. His niece used some when she got married, and this is the rest of it.”

“It turns out to be Daughter Red,^[2] ah.” Liu Xian’an poured a small cup. “To happiness.”

Liang Shu frowned: “Why is your voice so hoarse?”

Liu Xian’an took a sip of wine: “I talked all morning. A-Ning cured Sang Yannian’s panic disorder. He offered to come and help this morning, so I let him sit aside and watch while I talked about the things that should be paid attention to when fetching Gu worms.”

“Did he understand?” 

“No,” Liu Xian’an said, “I didn’t ask, but judging from his expression, he probably didn’t understand half a sentence.”

Liang Shu internally shook his head, and poured himself a glass of wine.

After Liu Xian’an ate two or three rice cakes, his stomach was full, and he remembered the dream from last night.

Liang Shu asked: “What are you thinking about?”

“Ah?” Liu Xian’an returned to his senses with a guilty conscience. “Nothing.”

Liang Shu said: “It doesn’t look like nothing.”

Liu Xian’an said stiffly: “It’s really nothing.”

But it was something, unfortunately.

After some deliberation, he picked up another piece of rice cake and pretended to be casual, saying: “I have a friend.”

Liang Shu smiled: “Okay, you have a friend. Then what?”

“This person is always taking a bath and washes for a long time.” Liu Xian’an asked, “What does the prince think is the cause of this?”

Liang Shu looked at the wine cup in his hand: “Perhaps he feels that he carries too many sins and murderous intentions, so he wants to wash some of it off.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t expect this answer, and was stunned for a moment.

“Is that wrong?” Liang Shu looked at him. “It may be because of other reasons. After all, if a person thinks he is clean, he would not bathe all the time.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t speak again.

After a while, Liang Shu suddenly stretched out a finger and, as if knocking on a door, knocked on his head three times.

Liu Xian’an was puzzled: “What is the prince doing?”

Liang Shu said: “Tell your friend to come out and stop bathing. Some things cannot be washed off, and it will just add to their troubles. Why not have a drink with us?”

Liu Xian’an said: “How does the prince know –” He originally wanted to ask the prince how he knew that it was a friend from the dao, but after thinking about it, he had no friends in reality.

Liang Shu smiled and asked: “Has he come out yet?”

The Second Young Master Liu in the Three Thousand Ways closed his eyes, pulled His Wet Royal Highness Xiao Wang out of the pool, and made him wear a big robe.

“He’s out.”

Not only did he come out, but he was also stuffed with a small pot of Daughter Red and a sweet rabbit rice cake. The hospitality was extremely thoughtful.

Liang Shu raised his cup in the air: “Then drink to him.”

Liu Xian’an also followed suit.

The two each had a cup, as well as His Royal Highness Xiao Wang in another world. It was only that Second Young Master Liu was more tired and had to work from both ends.

The flagon was soon empty, and A-Ning reminded him from outside that the common people had lined up again.

“Go, ba.” Liang Shu stood up. “If you have time, ask your friend what kind of wine he likes to drink. Next time, I will give you a jug.”

Liu Xian’an agreed: “Okay.”

He opened the door and watched as Liang Shu left. A-Ning asked softly: “Young Master, what were you talking about with the prince? Why are you both so happy?”

“It’s nothing.” Liu Xian’an waved his hands in a posturing way. 

A-Ning said disbelievingly: “But Young Master, you are smiling like this.”

“Oh, so I am.” Liu Xian’an leaned against the door frame and thought for a moment. “It was the first time someone had a drink with my friend.” Although strictly speaking, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was actually accompanying himself, he was unaware and was still willing to drink with them, which was something that had never happened before.

A-Ning immediately volunteered: “Then I will drink with Young Master’s friend next time.”

Liu Xian’an pinched a bit of his cheek: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

A-Ning was very wronged. Who would have thought that the sages who only existed in spirit had the same need for drink as people in reality? But having said that, the world today is getting more and more complicated, Young Master. In another ten or twenty years, there is no telling what it will turn into.

Oh, what a headache.

Liu Xian’an was in a good mood, and patted his face: “Go, keep working.”

“Ai!” A-Ning carried the medicine box on his back and urged, “Young Master, try not to talk any more in the afternoon. Listen to what your voice sounds like. No matter how detailed your explanation was, Doctor Sang couldn’t understand it. Even the common people noticed. Several people were secretly laughing at him.”

“I’ll still talk. Anyway, it’s not tiring, and only makes me a little hoarse,” Liu Xian’an said. “Wanting to learn is always a good thing.”

In the end, he went to the front yard to see, and that person had not come at all.

If he didn’t come, he didn’t come, ba. Anyway, this Doctor Sang was not very important to the people present. Liu Xian’an made himself a pot of malva nut tea and then continued to remove Gu from the common people. Taohua also brought a bag full of rice cakes to distribute to everyone. After being assigned to the last place in the line, an auntie took her into her arms: “Why do you look so weary?”

“Dizziness,” Taohua said carefully.

“Yo, I fear it is heatstroke.” The auntie wiped the fine sweat from her brow. “You listen when I tell you not to run under the sun. It’s too hot to play at noon, why not go to a shady room where it is cool?”

Taohua was embarrassed by her words: “En, I won’t do it next time.”

“Next time, next time. I know that next time you will play more wildly than anyone else.” The auntie smiled and gave her a smack. “Go back to your room and lie down. When I get to the front of the line, I will ask Doctor A-Ning to prescribe some heat-reducing medicine for you. You will be fine tomorrow.”

Taohua agreed and walked toward the house alone. By chance, she came upon Sang Yannian, who was sitting on the side of the path in a daze.

“Doctor Sang.” She asked in bafflement, “Why are you sitting on the ground?”

“It’s cool here.” Doctor Sang raised his hand and called her to his side. “Your face is so yellow, are you sick?”

“En, Auntie Hua said it is heatstroke and made me go back to sleep.”

“Then let me take a look for you,” Sang Yannian said, “This is not a serious illness, and will be cured after taking a couple of medications.”

Taohua obediently offered him her wrist.

Sang Yannian tested it for a while, and his brows furrowed. This didn’t seem like the pulse of a person with ordinary heatstroke.

He carefully distinguished and inquired about various symptoms, and almost exhausted the entirety of his life’s knowledge. Finally, he came to the conclusion that in addition to the heat, “phlegm stagnates in the lungs and restricts the qi and blood.” Greatly relieved, he let Taohua go back to the room to rest first while he went to the pharmacy to get the medicine for decoction.

While decocting the medicine, he thought indignantly, which doctor can just casually detoxify Gu poison? Don’t they all treat these common diseases seriously?

He took the medicine and personally delivered it to Taohua’s room.

Liu Xian’an and A-Ning at the front were still busy, unknowing of what was going on behind them. Auntie Hua was at the end of the line, and when it was her turn, it was nearly dark.

“Taohua has heat stroke?” Liu Xian’an took a cloth bag and said to A-Ning, “You go and take a look at her. There is only Auntie left, I’ll remove her Gu worms.”

“All right.” A-Ning removed his apron. “After that, I’ll go to the kitchen and boil a pot of water so that you can soak your hands when you come back.”

It was quiet in the backyard since people had been going down the mountain in batches and there were not many of them left. And it was dinner time now, so it was even more empty.

A-Ning knocked on the door a few times, but seeing as no one answered, he pushed it open himself: “Taohua, are you sleeping?”

There was no movement on the bed.

“Taohua?” A-Ning called again. For some reason, he suddenly felt that this dark room was a bit strange, as if something wasn’t right.

“Taohua!”

. . . .

Down the mountain, Liang Shu was shaking Shi Hanhai down for good wine.

Poor Shi-daren was about to cry. It wasn’t that the official refused to give it, but that there really wasn’t any more. Even if wine was brewed immediately on the spot, wouldn’t it have to wait a year or two?

His Royal Highness Xiao Wang said slowly: “But this lord wants to treat guests.”

Shi Hanhai had heard this sentence more than ten times, and his ears were growing calluses. He thought, then the prince might as well cook me up, ba, and see if that can entertain this distinguished guest. 

While the two were talking, Cheng Suyue suddenly rushed in.

“Your Highness, Shi-daren.” She said in a low voice, “Something has happened on the mountain.”

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[1] Kun (鲲) is a legendary giant fish that could transform into a giant bird. ⮐

[2] This type of wine was traditionally brewed and buried when a daughter was born and taken out when she got married. ⮐

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Chapter Sixteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighteen

Zhao Yelan heard the sound of horseshoes behind him and opened his eyes slightly, only to find that Yan Mingting was looking at him with his eyes wide open like a vigilant leopard, an inexplicably fierce possessiveness in his gaze.

Zhao Yelan was stunned for a moment at this sight, and immediately guessed who was coming from behind. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly and he closed his eyes again, indulging in this unconcealed kiss.

After the people behind gradually drifted away, the two separated in unison. Neither took the initiative to mention who had come, and instead went to catch rabbits.

Their distraction just now had allowed the rabbits to scatter and flee. Zhao Yelan didn’t have the strength to draw the bow again, and said, “You go.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll wander around.”

Yan Mingting was worried that a beast would appear and hurt him, so he said, “I’ll go around with you.”

The two led the horses and unknowingly came upon a small stream. Several deer drinking there hastily fled.

Zhao Yelan rubbed the medicine on his hands. It was inconvenient, so he handed the handkerchief to Yan Mingting.

Yan Mingting went to the stream to soak the handkerchief, then carefully wiped his face and the back of his hands, saying with a soft smile: “You fellow, you are so fastidious when going out to hunt.”

“Is there a problem?”

“There isn’t, I want to learn from you.”

As Yan Mingitng spoke, he wiped his face with the handkerchief again and then went to the stream to wash it. Suddenly, he paused and looked down at the things in the water.

“What is it?” Zhao Yelan bent down to look, and saw a small crab the size of his thumb walking domineeringly in the water.

Yan Mingting picked it up and put it in his palm: “Isn’t this just another prey?”

“……”

The crab was tiny, crawling back and forth in the palm of his hand. It was very ticklish. Zhao Yelan didn’t know whether to cast it aside or not. While he was struggling, Yan Mingting actually grabbed a few more and put them in his hand. Then, seeing his helpless look, he backed up and laughed.

From time to time, the roars of tigers and beasts and the cheers of successfully hitting prey sounded in the forest, sending birds fluttering away from the treetops. But the small world here seemed a little childish.

Zhao Yelan removed his shoes and went to wade in the creek. Yan Mingting buried his head in catching crabs, and then put the crabs in a palm-sized pond dug next to him. Zhao Yelan was in charge of managing this pond, and when he saw that crabs had escaped the prison, he would bring them back.

Li Yucheng and Fu Qian came here as they chased the same rabbit. They looked at them from a distance, not daring to approach them.

Fu Qian was shocked: “What are they doing? I stopped playing with those when I was five years old.”

“I don’t know, ba, it’s just for fun.” Li Yucheng took advantage of his inattention to shoot the rabbit, then proudly picked up the rabbit and ran away. “Don’t blame me for not warning you, if you don’t leave, you’ll be thrashed by them.”

Fu Qian glanced at the man with his trousers lifted and a smile on his face. No matter what, it was difficult to reconcile him with the king of Hell who sat in the interrogation room and dug out the prisoner’s eyes with his own hands.

How could a person be vicious, yet have such an innocent smile at the same time?

He couldn’t figure it out, and simply didn’t want to, so he ran away quickly.

After some time, the sun set and then completely sank, leaving only a gray sky.

Yan Mingting didn’t allow him to play anymore. The water became cold, so he pulled him to sit on a rock by the stream. There were some belongings placed on the rock, and Zhao Yelan had even brought a short knife with him.

“Allow me, ba.” Yan Mingting picked up the knife with a smile, and was about to put on his shoes, when he suddenly heard the roar of a tiger nearby, followed by loud human voices: “Somebody! His Majesty is gone!”

The two exchanged glances. Zhao Yelan quickly put on his shoes: “Let’s go have a look.”

As soon as they reached the side of the path, several people ran over and said in a hurry: “General Yan, His Majesty just went to hunt a tiger. He ran too fast and we couldn’t catch up. Now we can’t find him, what should we do?”

“Where did he go?” Yan Mingting asked.

“To the southeast of Tiger Mountain.”

Yan Mingting mounted his horse, told Zhao Yelan to go to the camp first, and then chased after him.

Watching his back as he left alone, Zhao Yelan frowned and said: “You all, go find the other military officials and call them to search.”

“Yes.”

After a while, the whole hunting grounds were full of shouts, people holding torches and searching high and low. Not only had there been no news of the Emperor, even Yan Mingting had not returned for a long time.

Some people began to worry, suspecting that this tiger was the mother of the tiger who was hunted last time and had come to seek revenge. This was a ferocious beast after all, with a huge body and sharp claws. A casual bite would cost half of one’s life.

The more they talked, the more flustered they became, and everyone started to fidget with their hands and feet. While searching tremblingly, they also hoped that they would not encounter a tiger.

Many people searched around Tiger Mountain. Zhao Yelan was among them, followed by Li Yucheng and his entourage, who happened to meet him.

Knowing that Yan Mingting was looking for that person, Li Yucheng looked very relaxed and chatted with him: “I won a big victory today. You didn’t see Fu Qian’s face, it was as black as charcoal, hahaha.”

The sky was completely dark. The sounds of prey sounded from time to time in the woods, and the path ahead could not be seen clearly. A little wind through the grass could easily put fear in people’s hearts.

Li Yucheng was faint-hearted, and any time there was movement around, he would be so frightened that he hugged the arms of his entourage. He wanted to go back quickly, but everyone was looking for the Emperor. He didn’t dare to leave the group without authorization, so he could only continue prattling. Seeing that Zhao Yelan still didn’t respond, he couldn’t help but reach out and tug his arm: “Hey, why are you not afraid at all?”

“Shut up!” Zhao Yelan sullenly tossed his sleeve and turned to look at him. His tone was stiff, and his eyes were so cold that they could freeze people to death. “One more word, and I will destroy you.”

Li Yucheng was so frightened by his sudden anger that he didn’t dare to make a sound, following him quietly. Looking at his lonely and solitary back, he suddenly thought that this was the original Zhao Yelan.

How did he dare to approach the former Zhao Yelan so carelessly? It was out of the question, he really disliked the original Zhao Yelan, who was selfish, heartless, and unkind.

When did he feel that he could get close?

That’s right, when Yan Mingting was by his side, although he was still mean, he wouldn’t really get angry. Like a cat that had been provoked, he would scratch you a few times, but he wouldn’t really kill you.

Li Yucheng was used to the Zhao Yelan who was accompanied by Yan Mingting. He was lively, interesting, and down-to-earth. To put it bluntly, it was like he was a person.

Now that Yan Mingting was gone, he had gone back to his old ways.

So terrible.

Li Yucheng rubbed his arms and whispered: “I was just trying to distract you, you look worried about him. Don’t worry, ba, he’ll be fine. No one can hurt him, not even a tiger.”

Zhao Yelan’s expression softened a little, but he still ignored him.

The group of people came to the vicinity of Tiger Mountain. Zhao Yelan looked at the tiger tracks on the ground and led his people to follow them. In the end, they came to the edge of a cliff surrounded by ropes, indicating that this was the boundary of the hunting grounds. But one section was broken.

Zhao Yelan ordered someone to find the commander of the Imperial army. This time, it depended on the Imperial army to deploy defenses.

When the commander saw this situation, he was nearly terrified, and said that the grass around here was all gone and there was no place to hide. Normally, a tiger would never come here, and he didn’t know why it rushed over today.

Zhao Yelan walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down, breaking into a cold sweat. Then he heard someone beside him say: “There is a sword dropped here.”

Zhao Yelan walked over and saw that it was the one worn by Yan Mingting, and looked at the commander in a towering rage: “Hurry up and take people down with you to search!”

. . . . . .

“Are you all right?” Zhao Xuan asked.

“I’m fine.” Yan Mingting sat up, took out a bottle of medicine from his sleeve and wiped it on his knee a few times, then tore off a piece of cloth from his clothes and wrapped it around it while gritting his teeth. But his right arm was also bleeding from scraping a rock, so it was not easy to apply the bandage.

Zhao Xuan took the cloth strip from his hand and silently helped him tie it on his arm.

“Many thanks.”

“I should thank you, you saved my life.”

Half an hour ago, he had seen those two people kissing under the tree. For some reason, he felt a fire in his heart, but he didn’t explode. Instead, he left silently and came to Tiger Mountain without knowing it. He wanted to vent, so he tried to hunt and kill this fierce tiger just like last time.

Who knew that this one was much more difficult to deal with, and first turned around to run away. He held his breath and chased after it, not even noticing that the people behind him weren’t following. He shot a few poisoned arrows, but the tiger turned around and rushed toward him, opening its mouth to bite down hard.

He held the quiver and used all his strength to hold it against its upper jaw. Before long, the quiver was bitten through. As he saw the teeth through the gap that were about to sink into his body, an epee suddenly crashed into its head and it rolled to the ground.

Yan Mingting arrived just in time and helped him up. As they tried to leave, the tiger crawled to its feet and stalked around them, as if looking for an opportunity.

Zhao Xuan was dripping with cold sweat, and subconsciously glanced at Yan Mingting, but saw that Yan Mingting’s eyes were calm. He was watching the tiger’s movements closely, as if looking for an opening, but his sword was no longer in his hand.

Suddenly, the tiger rushed towards them.

Zhao Xuan’s vision went dark, and he noticed that someone was holding his waist as they flashed to the side. Then Yan Mingting released him and leaped into the air onto the tiger’s back, drew out a short knife, and pierced it into its eye.

The tiger roared ferociously, twisting violently on the ground. Yan Mingting held down its head and poked its other eye blind, then quickly jumped off its back.

The blind tiger crawled on the ground aimlessly and accidentally pushed Zhao Xuan to the edge of the cliff. Zhao Xuan screamed, but was caught and fell down together. 

Yan Mingting stepped on several broken crags and trees before rolling into the valley. Not far away was the dead tiger, its blood flowing down a small stream.

There was a small cave next to it, which could provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Zhao Xuan was scratched in a few places, but his wounds were not as serious as Yan Mingting’s. He glanced at the other’s injuries and said worriedly: “Can you still stand?”

“I can, ah.” Yan Mingting stood up while leaning against the wall, and walked outside again.

“Where are you going?” Zhao Xuan asked.

“To get this tiger skin, I didn’t kill it for nothing.” Yan Mingting limped towards the tiger, took the short knife in his hand again, and made a cut, beginning to skin it.

Zhao Xuan felt dizzy at the sight of the tiger and couldn’t look anymore, so he sat back in the cave, recalling the thrilling scene just now. It could be regarded as being a step away from death.

At the moment he fell from the cliff and the blurred scenery passed before his eyes, he found that in his short life, Zhao Yelan had participated in half of the important things.

The last scene that he couldn’t shake from his mind was actually Zhao Yelan wearing a red outfit and veil. There was only a pair of white hands with distinct joints holding a big red ribbon, and at the other end was the heroic Yan Mingting.

Wearing the same red outfit and standing with Zhao Yelan, he was not inferior. The grit of the battlefield had not ruined him, and his eyes were still clear and bright, with the vigor of a young man and the maturity and stability of having experienced the world. He smiled and thanked everyone who had come to drink the wedding wine.

And he, sitting on the main seat, watched the two people bow and wondered what would happen to them in the future.

Unexpectedly, after only half a year, they were drawn to each other.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside. Yan Mingting walked in carrying the tiger skin covered in blood, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from it.

It was impossible for Yan Mingting to carry a handkerchief with him, so Zhao Xuan could tell at a glance that it belonged to Zhao Yelan.

“Take a break first, why are you in such a hurry to get the tiger skin?” Zhao Xuan asked.

“Winter will come soon, it’s just the right time to make him a blanket.” Yan Mingting smiled.

The person he was referring to was self-evident. Thinking about it, Zhao Yelan was afraid of the cold, and he was half to blame. He sighed: “If he hadn’t blocked an arrow for me back then, he wouldn’t be so affected by the cold.”

Yan Mingting paused, did not speak, and continued to wipe.

Zhao Xuan was keenly aware of the moment when he paused. There was a strange, despicable pleasure, as if no matter how powerful Yan Mingting was, he could not take away their childhood, and the things they experienced together could not be changed or reversed.

“The doctor worked to save him for a few days before he woke up,” Zhao Xuan said, and suddenly gave an inexplicable laugh. “He also called a person’s name in a dream.”

He didn’t say who the name belonged to, but Yan Mingting knew it couldn’t be him. He said: “En, I know.”

“You know?” For a moment, Zhao Xuan couldn’t control his expression. How could he even tell him such a private matter?

Zhao Yelan did mention it to him when the two of them were sitting on the roof in Jiangnan. He had asked Zhao Yelan why he blocked the opponent’s arrow, and after the other party finished explaining the reason, he hesitated to mention this matter.

What Zhao Yelan said back then, oh, he remembered —

“I also did an outrageous thing at that time. When I was half asleep and half awake, I heard Zhao Xuan’s voice, and suddenly thought of another way. Since I had already made him feel guilty, why not make him feel completely at ease with me? I pretended to call his name in my dreams.”

“He was the son of the royal family, and the Xuan Dynasty’s laws did not allow the sons of the royal family to marry men, so he would definitely choose the country. What’s more, he didn’t like men, but he needed me to advise him, so he would rest assured leaving me alone. He might fear a man who coveted power, but if it was someone who adored him, he could use him with confidence.”

Yan Mingting’s mood at that time was exactly the same as now – fortunately, it was Zhao Yelan who took the initiative to speak out, otherwise he would have been ashamed to death if he had learned about it from Zhao Xuan.

He could understand that in a desperate situation, Zhao Yelan would do anything by fair means or foul to save his own quality of life. In fact, it was exactly as Zhao Yelan judged. After the ascension to the throne, those staff members like him were more or less transferred from the capital, and some were even executed. But he remained in the capital because Zhao Xuan felt that he still adored him and would not have any resentment toward him.

Naturally, he would not tell Zhao Xuan these reasons. After saying, “I know,” the two fell into silence again.

Yan Mingting continued to clean the tiger skin, being careful not to get any in the fur.

Zhao Xuan sat nearby watching him, and suddenly asked: “Do you also know his origin?”

“En.” Yan Mingting abruptly stopped what he was doing, looked up at him, and said solemnly, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving his life back then.”

His tone was sincere, and they were words from a qualified family member. Zhao Xuan’s throat rolled, but he couldn’t refuse his thanks, and just smiled self-deprecatingly: “Why did he tell you all these things, ah……”

Wasn’t this his biggest taboo? Why had they only known each other for half a year, and everything had been confessed?

“Because we are joined in marriage, there will be no secrets,” Yan Mingting said, and thanked him again, “I also want to thank Your Majesty for granting us a marriage, otherwise how could we fall in love so quickly?”

Fall in love ‘so quickly’, rather than fall in love.

Yan Mingting felt that even if they weren’t conferred a marriage, but were just colleagues, he would definitely have been drawn to Zhao Yelan and pursued him hard. Even if it took a little longer, they would still end up together.

Zhao Xuan thoroughly choked. He had really taken the initiative to draw them a red string that could not be cut.

But seeing him so proud, Zhao Xuan was a little upset again and said: “In the past, do you know what his favorite thing to do was?”

Yan Mingting wanted to know what Zhao Yelan was like as a child, but he would rather listen to Zhao Yelan tell it himself, rather than learn it from Zhao Xuan.

He stood up and walked toward Zhao Xuan, intending to strike him unconscious when he wasn’t paying attention, but when he passed by him and raised his hand, he heard the sound of disordered footsteps outside.

“Your Majesty! General! We finally found you, are you all right?” The leader led a group of people to appear at the entrance of the cave, and shouted back, “We found them!”

The group of people rushed in, helped Zhao Xuan up, and saw to his injuries.

Yan Mingting took a few steps back to make room for them. At this time, a figure appeared at the entrance, struggling to push past the person standing in front of him: “Yan Mingting!”

Yan Mingting immediately looked up, and when he saw Zhao Yelan, he smiled with relief: “I’m here.”

Zhao Xuan also looked over and found that his hair was disheveled, his jade crown had been lost, and there were grass stains on his clothes. He was completely different from the neat and tidy Zhao Yelan.

The next moment, he watched that person approach in a hurry, and only noticed that the other’s eyes were bloodshot. Then he passed him by without even looking at him, running toward the figure in front. He tripped and almost fell, but luckily Yan Mingting caught him in time.

“Are you okay?” Yan Mingting and Zhao Yelan said in unison.

“I’m fine.” Yan Mingting smiled at him.

Zhao Yelan quickly stood up and noticed that his arms and knees were wrapped in cloth. There was still a lot of blood, so he hurriedly took him and looked him over carefully, finding that his whole body was covered in blood. His eyes reddened again from fear: “You say you’re fine?!”

Yan Mingting wanted to explain to him that the blood was from the tiger, but from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Zhao Xuan staring at them and immediately changed his words: “Ah, it hurts.”

“Where does it hurt?” Zhao Yelan asked hastily.

“My whole body hurts.” Yan Mingting put his hands on the other’s shoulders and leaned fully against him, weak and unable to take care of himself. “Let’s go home first, ba, or you can blow on it first for me, or kiss it.”

Zhao Xuan: “……”

---

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Chapter Seventy-Six <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Eight

Liang Shu really didn’t like white very much, because it was too clean, as clean as a handful of snow, and should float in the same clean sky and be looked up to by the world. The Northwest wind and sand filled the air, and the battlefield was filled with bloody mist and body parts. If pure white entered that kind of environment, there was no telling how contaminated it would become.

But dislike was dislike. He was not so overbearing as to forbid others to wear white. The reason he wanted to give a few sets of clothes was because the old robes that Second Young Master Liu was accustomed to wearing were too bulky and cumbersome. They were only suitable for staying in the depths of the bamboo forest and discussing the dao with old, white-bearded men, not suitable for down-to-earth work.

“Go back and rest early tonight,” Liang Shu said. “Another doctor in the city will go up the mountain tomorrow. Although he doesn’t have medical skills, he is at least better than the current helpers who don’t understand medical science. If there is anything to be done, you just tell him to do it.”

Liu Xian’an agreed and watched the other party leave, then went back to study Du Jing’s corpse. He didn’t think this work was difficult. On the contrary, every time he found a different Gu worm, he could find the corresponding record from the book collection in his mind, which was quite interesting.

It was hot in the summer, and even if a corpse was treated, it could not be stored for long, so Liu Xian’an stayed in the morgue for more than two hours that night. It wasn’t until the sky was faintly bright that he returned to the residence with aches and pains all over his body. Instead of asking A-Ning to serve him, he fetched two basins of clean water, washed himself, and then went to bed to rest.

Probably because of tiredness, or maybe because he hadn’t worked before, Second Young Master Liu did everything very slowly. For what took others a quarter of an hour, he needed at least half an hour. He looked like a little paper doll on a stage, creaking to and fro, taking twice as long. No matter how anxious the spectators were, he was immersed in his own world, methodically enjoying himself.

After tidying up, Liu Xian’an burrowed into bed all clean and spotless, and was about to fall comfortably asleep when he remembered a very important thing. So he opened his eyes again and said very piously in his heart, don’t dream, don’t dream, don’t dream.

Then he fell asleep.

He really didn’t dream anymore.

Liu Xian’an slept soundly this time without His Royal Highness Xiao Wang making trouble, and didn’t get up until noon. A-Ning was dispensing medicine outside the door. Hearing movement in the room, he came in. While helping him wash up, he said: “Cheng-guniang sent us several sets of clothes this morning, and said that since Chixia City had been sealed for a long time, all kinds of materials are in short supply. There were not many quality goods in the tailor shop, and she could just barely procure these. Although they are not very good-looking, they are convenient for doing work.”

Liu Xian’an had never worn this kind of dark clothing before, but he was never picky about what he wore, so he took out an outfit and tried it on. A-Ning held up an apron toward his neck and looked back and forth with a smile: “This one suits the Eldest Young Master more, la.” 

There was no mirror in the room, so Liu Xian’an could only go to the basin in the courtyard to see his reflection and determine how much he looked like his elder brother. At this time, another man came in from the outside door and asked, “Does Doctor Liu live here?”

Liu Xian’an turned around. The man might not have thought that the back of such coarse cloth would match up with such a unique face. He was clearly taken aback, and when he spoke again, there was obvious respect in his voice: “My name is Sang Yannian, and I am a doctor from Chixia City. Shi-daren sent me to help the miracle doctor take care of the people.”

“Doctor Sang,” Liu Xian’an said, “I will write down some things that need attention later, and A-Ning will instruct you on what to do.”

“Okay.” San Yannian asked, “Where is the miracle doctor going now?”

“To continue looking for Gu worms on the corpse.” There was still half a bag of sugar cakes from last night, and Liu Xian’an walked out while eating them. “Today is the last day. If Doctor Sang is interested, please come along.”

Sang Yannian agreed and hastily followed. He was a natural slacker and was very clear about his medical skills. He loved face and was greedy for money, so he often tampered with medicine and was beaten. Being transferred up the mountain at this time and having to take care of people who were infected with Gu, he was very unhappy. He had originally made up his mind to kill time, but after seeing Liu Xian’an, for some reason, his posture suddenly straightened up.

Before entering the morgue, Liu Xian’an stuffed the last bite of sugar cake into his mouth and put on another set of gloves. The Gu worms in Du Jing’s body had not been exhausted, so the appearance of the corpse was grimmer day by day. He took off the white cloth to see what new expression he had today, but Sang Yannian beside him screamed again and again and ran out of the room to vomit.

Liu Xian’an swallowed the sugar cake in his mouth and picked up the tweezers. He didn’t have time to pay attention to him.

Sang Yannian almost vomited himself into dehydration. In the afternoon, he still had a fever and lay weakly in bed. A-Ning said in distress: “How is he here to help? He is clearly here to make trouble. I will tell Cheng-guniang right away and tell her to take him away quickly.”

“It’s not too much trouble. At least he can reduce his fever by himself and doesn’t need you or me to take care of him,” Liu Xian’an said. “Go find someone to boil water.”

These two days, all the bathtubs on the mountain had been found, and Shi Hanhai sent another batch from the foot of the mountain for medicinal bathing. After soaking, the common people would line up for Second Young Master Liu and A-Ning to take their Gu worms. This was a real test of medical skills, and they couldn’t teach others for a while and could only work harder themselves. 

Often after a full day, Liu Xian’an would see double images and A-Ning would cover his eyes in a handkerchief soaked in liquid medicine and say: “I’m going to prepare things, la, don’t fall asleep, Young Master.”

Liu Xian’an gave a perfunctory “yes,” and in the next moment, he didn’t know where his mind wandered. The handkerchief on his eyes was cool, with the aroma of borneol and menthol, which smelled very nice. He tapped lightly on the table with his fingers and hummed some songs intermittently. Before he had time to meet with the immortals, sleepiness had already hit his brain. The avenues spun rapidly and his thoughts were also knocked apart.

Just when Second Young Master Liu was fully relaxed and ready to have a big dream amidst the chaos, the minty aroma was suddenly mixed with a trace of another scent that was heavy and thick, cold and fragrant.

This was the sandalwood fragrance on Liang Shu’s body. Liu Xian’an’s eyelids twitched slightly. On the one hand, he wanted to tell the other party, the Three Thousand Worlds are closed today, please come back another day, guest. But on the other hand, he felt that it was just a dream anyway. If he tried to wake up, then he didn’t need to bother explaining it.

In accordance with Liu Xian’an’s laziness, it was obvious that he would rather save trouble, so he tried to open his eyes and wake up from the dream before Liang Shu appeared. But the handkerchief suddenly seemed to weigh a thousand tons, making it impossible for him to move.

Liang Shu’s voice came from behind: “What are you doing?”

Liu Xian’an pretended not to hear, and also resolutely refused to turn his head, for fear that His Royal Highness Xiao Wang had come to take a bath without clothes again this time.

Liang Shu had no choice but to pat his face: “Wake up.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t wake up, mainly because he didn’t want to. A white crane loomed in front of him. Overjoyed, he raised a hand to call it over, so that he could take it and flee quickly, but someone grabbed his wrist.

With a brief exclamation, he finally left the dreamland.

Liang Shu took off the handkerchief and asked: “Are you all right?”

Liu Xian’an gasped, not understanding how this man could follow him into reality from the dream, and couldn’t speak for a moment. He just stared at him with wide eyes, his heart beating like a drum. After a while, he said hoarsely: “Why is the prince here?”

“Matters at the foot of the mountain are almost settled, so I came back to take a look.” Liang Shu poured a glass of water for him. “I saw a lot of people lighting fires outside.”

“Yes, the people who have been infected by Gu need medicinal baths.” Liu Xian’an came back to his senses. “There was too much work and the helpers were too busy. There weren’t enough bathtubs, so they had to work in shifts day and night. Fortunately, Qiu Daxing helped, and he arranged all the chores very well.”

Qiu Daxing was the man who blatantly said that he wanted to occupy the mountain as a king and had served in the Northwest Military Camp. This time, in order to make His Royal Highness Xiao Wang look at him more so that he could brag to his wife after going down the mountain, he ran back and forth a lot. Liang Shu asked: “Only Qiu Daxing? Where is the doctor?”

“Him, ah.” Liu Xian’an put down the empty water cup. “He followed me to the morgue the first day up the mountain, but he is still lying in bed today.”

Liang Shu rubbed his temples for a long time. Had he sent him a burden to add to the confusion?

At this moment, A-Ning pushed open the door with a wooden basin and urged: “Young Master, let’s leave quickly, Brother Qiu has come……Young Master?”

He quickly put down the things in his hands to salute, but was stopped by Liang Shu: “It’s midnight, where do you intend to go?”

“To the back mountain to bathe,” A-Ning explained. “All the bathtubs are being used by the common people.” Fortunately, the weather had not been cold recently, and there happened to be a shallow hot spring not far from the back mountain, so Liu Xian’an would go there to bathe these two days.

Liang Shu pointed outside: “With Qiu Daxing?”

Liu Xian’an choked very obviously.

A-Ning took a careful glance at his young master, and seeing that he didn’t intend to stop him, he said: “Two days ago when the young master was taking a bath, there were always shameless people who followed him and hid in the trees so that they wouldn’t be chased away. Later, Brother Qiu found out and said he would guard the intersection, and it finally calmed down.”

Liang Shu frowned: “Patients?”

A-Ning nodded: “But we can’t stop saving them just because of this, ba. All of them are joking around and not being serious, which is really annoying.”

Liang Shu took the wooden basin from A-Ning’s hands: “Don’t ask Qiu Daxing to follow. I will go to the back mountain with your young master tonight.”

Consequently, Liu Xian’an remembered the strange dream he had a few days ago and suddenly felt uncomfortable. He wanted to put a stop to it, but A-Ning had already obediently run out and sent Qiu Daxing away with a few words.

“…….”

The moonlight on this night was excellent, and the clouds were like streamers, wrapping the sky in soft fluff. The hot spring was not far from the residence, otherwise, in accordance with the walking speed of Second Young Master Liu, it would probably be dawn when he finished bathing.

When they arrived at the hot spring, Liang Shu placed the wooden basin on the ground, retreated to the corner of the path, and vanished. Liu Xian’an breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that reality was much better than the dream. He untied his belt and immersed himself in the water. Since the Three Thousand Ways were closed just now, he didn’t force them open again. He just closed his eyes, completely emptied his mind, and comfortably enjoyed the rare peace and tranquility of this day.

On the other side of the mountain path, a few dark shadows rustled into existence.

They were the hooligans who were “joking around and couldn’t be driven away” that A-Ning spoke of, hooligans that even the locals didn’t like. They usually liked to tease women and little daughter-in-laws with casual words, but after coming up the mountain and seeing Liu Xian’an, even a man of character would bend somewhat – in fact, they were not interested in men before and were not interested in men now, but they couldn’t help that Second Young Master Liu was so celestial-looking, so beautiful that he was almost not mortal.

When it came to beautiful things, some people were willing to hold and protect them in a proper manner, such as Qiu Daxing, while others were more like this group of hooligans, willing to splash them with mud and wrong them, then laugh out loud when they made the person angry. Although they didn’t make any substantial gains, they always felt extremely proud, as if they had done a great thing.

Seeing Qiu Daxing return to the room just now, they guessed that Liu Xian’an was bathing alone tonight, so they hurriedly called their companions to follow them.

“Move faster, hide his clothes.” 

Laughter broke out again. It seemed that everyone was very satisfied with this “ingenious plan,” and their pace quickened a bit. Seeing that the hot spring was not far away, everyone was preparing to step forward and implement the plan, but then their bodies froze.

“Wu, wuwu!”

They stood where they were, horrified to find that they couldn’t move! Everything was fine just now, but somehow, in the blink of an eye, their legs felt as if they had been filled with lead and they could no longer take half a step. Even when they struggled with all their strength, they could only remain stuck in the mud like sculptures, issuing faint gasps from their throats.

Looking like fools.

Those who were faint-hearted urinated all over themselves, unable to move.

At this time, a man slowly walked out of the shadows. He was well-dressed and elegant, and when his brocade robes blew in the wind, he really looked like a deadly demon from a painting. But he didn’t have a green face and fangs like a demon. On the contrary, his figure was tall, and his face was incredibly handsome, with a pair of slanted brows and eyes like a cold lake on a dark night. Just one glance would make a person’s blood run cold. 

Everyone trembled like chaff being sifted, as if they were staring at a ghost – it must be a ghost, otherwise, who would be able to deprive everyone of their voices and freeze their bodies in an instant?

Liang Shu glanced with extreme disgust at this group of strong but idle trash, and beat them to the ground with a sweep of his hand. They fell down heavily in a pile with a series of cracking sounds as an unknown number of bones snapped. Two guards leaped down from a height and said: “Your Highness.”

“Take them down the mountain and hand them over to Shi Hanhai.” Liang Shu turned and walked toward the hot spring. “Give them a lashing and throw them into prison to starve for two days. This lord will deal with them personally.”

. . . .

Liu Xian’an had already finished bathing at this time and was wrapped in a single layer as he sat on the bank and leisurely combed his hair. His feet were still soaking in the water, and his whole body glowed white under the moonlight. 

Liang Shu deliberately emphasized the sound of his footsteps.

As expected, Liu Xian’an quickened the speed of his hands. He tied up his wet hair and put on his clothes sitting to the side. He was about to put on his outer robe again, but looked at the dirt on it and paused. Liang Shu stepped forward and asked: “A-Ning didn’t prepare other clothes for you?”

“They were just washed and haven’t dried yet,” Liu Xian’an said. “It’s fine, I won’t wear it. Anyway, it’s a short distance back.”

There was still a forest breeze in the mountains. Liang Shu looked at his wet hair, took off his cloak, and slung it over the other party’s shoulders: “You are a doctor, so you should know whether it is more important to not get sick or not be dirty. But it’s fine if you won’t wear it, I will ask A-Yue to look again tomorrow and see if there is still stock in the tailor shop.”

“The prince is wrong,” Liu Xian’an said. “Dirt and disease have a lot to do with each other.” He stretched, feeling that his muscles and bones had softened. Not wanting to further explain the principles of medicine, he just walked slowly along the mountain path. Very slowly. 

After a while, Liang Shu asked: “Do you have a grudge against the ants in this area?”

Liu Xian’an denied it: “I didn’t step on them, I just saw two nests and went around them.”

Liang Shu was even more disbelieving: “You really count ants when walking?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “I just look at them in passing.”

Liang Shu: “……”

He tugged at the other’s hair and urged fiercely: “Walk quickly!”

Liu Xian’an covered his head, and after a token ten steps forward, his speed slowed down again. He really couldn’t walk fast. Liang Shu had no choice but to accompany him to count ants the whole way. After counting, Liu Xian’an remembered another thing and said: “It will take about forty days to cure all these people.”

Liang Shu nodded: “Okay.”

Liu Xian’an asked: “What about the prince?” Forty days was not short, and he still recalled that the other party was going to the Wanli Escort Bureau to investigate the case of Tan-daren back then.

Liang Shu really didn’t plan to stay here for too long. He had already reported the Baifu Sect matter to the Imperial court, and sent people to investigate and deal with the local officials who colluded with Du Jing to change out the grain – since things were taken care of here, it was naturally time to leave for the next destination.

As for Liu Xian’an, Cheng Suyue had also arranged to send the master and servant back to Baihe Mountain Village after the Chixia City poisoning mess was over.

Were they about to part ways? Although he would return to Baihe Mountain Village sooner or later, Liu Xian’an still remembered his task of dismantling the marriage during this trip, so he couldn’t just return in such a careless manner. He pondered for a long time before saying tactfully: “Will the prince come to my home again in the future?”

Liang Shu turned to look at him.

Second Young Master Liu’s eyes were intense, practically pasting the words “don’t come” on the face of His Highness Xiao Wang.

Liang Shu said: “I’ll come.”

Why did he still come? Liu Xian’an could only say: “Then it’s better for me and A-Ning to go to the Wanli Escort Bureau.”

Liang Shu raised his eyebrows slightly: “Oh?”

Liu Xian’an found a reason for himself: “I want to be more active.”

If Master Liu were to hear these words, he would probably be so moved that his tears would flow down his robes on the spot.

Liang Shu laughed inwardly: “What if I don’t intend to marry Third Young Lady Liu?”

“……You don’t intend to?”

“I don’t.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Liu Xian’an immediately changed his mind. Then he wouldn’t go to the escort bureau and would resume his usual activities at home.

At the same time, he added pretentiously: “Oh, when A-Yuan finds out, she must be very sad.”

Liang Shu smiled angrily at the speed of his insincere face change: “What will she be sad about, that she can no longer jump into the lake?”

Li Xian’an tripped.

Liang Shu didn’t reach out to help, so Second Young Master Liu could only stand firm on his own, saying with a guilty conscience: “Jump into the lake? What jump into the lake?”

Liang Shu was unmoved: “Go ahead and pretend.”

Liu Xian’an had a photographic memory, but even so, he couldn’t remember the things that he didn’t notice at all. He didn’t recall His Royal Highness Xiao Wang being in the teahouse, but it was impossible to admit it, so he immediately brought out the “I don’t know anything” method, crouched outside the closed gates of the Three Thousand Worlds, and wholeheartedly pretended to be an immortal.

Liang Shu tapped his head: “Come out.”

Liu Xian’an: I can’t hear you.

In this way, he walked unsteadily back to the residence on a bumpy road.

Liang Shu didn’t stay long, only sitting down to drink a cup of tea. In the dead of night, Liu Xian’an lay on the bed and told A-Ning: “You send a letter back to Baihe City to tell A-Yuan that the prince has no intention of marrying her, and we can go home right away.”

“Really?” A-Ning jumped up happily when he heard these words. “Don’t we need to go to Wanli Escort Bureau?”

“No need.” Liu Xian’an said, “We just need to cure these common people.”

A-Ning couldn’t wait for the next day to come, immediately running to the desk to write the letter.

The candlelight flickered, disturbing people’s sleep. Liu Xian’an turned sideways and hid his face in the shadows. 

This trip that was neither far nor near was not very comfortable, but not too uncomfortable. At least the marriage was broken up smoothly, and he got to know Lieutenant General Gao and Cheng-guniang and save a whole city, which could still be called a fruitful harvest.

As for His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, Liu Xian’an wrapped the blanket tightly around him and carefully calculated in his heart what kind of wine he should be treated to when they met again in Baihe Mountain Village in the future.

Wine that was too strong would not work, as there should be plenty of spirits in the Northwest. Too light would not work, it was ascetic and tasteless.

Thinking in this way, he fell into a deep sleep. Liang Shu was soaking in the pool under the waterfall again, this time looking even more handsome and leisurely. Beside him were two beautiful white cranes, hovering there while holding wine jars and drinking utensils on their backs.

Liu Xian’an stood on the shore with complicated emotions, unable to speak for a long time.

This was really too rude. When would he be able to dream up a suitable set of clothes for His Royal Highness Xiao Wang?

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Chapter Fifteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventeen

A new incident occurred in court the next day, which threw everyone’s minds off, and they couldn’t concentrate on court business.

Because the people in front noticed the red marks on Yan Mingting’s neck, they were so shocked that their white hair almost stood on end. They couldn’t help whispering to the people behind, and once the word spread, all the civil and military officials stared at the marks one after another. Although the people in the rear couldn’t see clearly, they still felt strange.

General Yan did not come to court for the first time yesterday, and today he bore traces of romance. What happened was self-evident.

It was only that everyone was guessing who he had an affair with.

A woman? Not quite, Zhao Yelan definitely wouldn’t allow a woman to enter.

Then it could only be Zhao Yelan.

It was said that the two hugged on the street in public a few days ago. It was really indecent, ah, just indecent.

But no one dared to impeach him.

Zhao Yelan had done many important things recently. Not only had he become a popular person in the eyes of the Emperor, but he had also been praised by the common people and could not be offended.

Yan Mingting had just received the Imperial Sword, they couldn’t afford to provoke someone who could decapitate them first and ask for permission later.

What else could they do but persuade them to restrain themselves!

After court was over, several old officials couldn’t help but remind Yan Mingting in low voices: “General Yan, this is court, after all. What happens between you and Zhao Yelan…..”

“Ah? Even you all know?” Pleasantly surprised, Yan Mingting said, “Yes, we are together.”

Everyone: “……” Didn’t you guys get together a long time ago?

“Cough.” The leader donned a wise expression and urged, “General Yan and Zhao-daren still need to pay more attention to their bodies.”

“My body is in good health, ah,” Yan Mingting said. “But his body really needs to be nourished more. By the way, do you have any good medicine for strengthening the body that you can recommend? He’s been so well-behaved recently, and obediently takes medicine when he’s told to take it.”

Everyone was silent, because it was truly difficult for them to imagine Zhao Yelan being so obedient. Even Kan Chuan, who was eavesdropping on the sidelines, fell into confusion and wanted to see such a thing if he had the opportunity.

“They’ve been staring at Yan Mingting all morning. What are they looking at?” Zhao Xuan asked Eunuch Gao casually as he walked toward Xuanzheng Hall.

There was some distance between the golden throne and the main hall, and it was still dark, so he couldn’t see clearly what had happened. Standing to one side, Eunuch Gao happened to witness the mark on the left side of Yan Mingting’s neck, so he told him about it.

“What did you say?” Zhao Xuan stopped abruptly and looked at him in disbelief. “Did you see that right?”

“It shouldn’t be wrong.” After Eunuch Gao spoke, he carefully observed the changes in the other’s expression, and finally gave an internal sigh.

The condition of Zhao Yelan’s neck was even worse than Yan Mingting’s. Yan Mingting was like a dog, biting all over his body and leaving mottled and ambiguous marks, even on his neck.

However, when he got up in the morning to tie his hair, he noticed it and took a box of ointment to apply it around.

Yin Pinglu had provided this ointment a few days ago. She said that she had bought more boxes in Jiangnan, so she insisted on giving him one. At that time, he had felt that it was unnecessary, but now that he thought about it, he feared that she had foreseen today’s situation and specially prepared it for him.

After arriving at the Imperial Academy, no one noticed the hidden marks on his neck at all, and they all dragged him in a lively manner to discuss serious business.

An hour later, another person came from the palace. Zhao Yelan and another colleague entered the palace to draft an Imperial edict.

It was nearly late autumn, and the autumn hunt would be held soon. It was also necessary to send letters to vassal lords and allies all over the country to prepare for their trips to Beijing in the winter to report on their duties and participate in state banquets and other matters.

After staying in the Imperial Academy for so long, Zhao Yelan was already familiar with these official documents. He and his colleagues sat together with brushes to write, and occasionally exchanged words.

The only strange thing was that his neck always felt a chill as Zhao Xuan stared at it from time to time.

After dealing with everything in the palace, the two were about to leave, but Zhao Xuan called his name hesitantly.

Zhao Yelan looked at him suspiciously, but Zhao Xuan didn’t say anything, only gesturing for them to step down.

It wasn’t until he returned home and saw Yan Mingting that he guessed what had happened. He pressed Yan Mingting’s neck and asked: “Did you go to court looking like this?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Yan Mingting looked into the mirror. “Aiya, when did you bite me?”

He turned around to blame him? Zhao Yelan didn’t even bother to speak to him, that rascal.

“It’s over, I went to many places today,” Yan Mingting said.

“What sorts of places?”

“You know I go to the training grounds every day.”

En, there were thousands of soldiers on the training field…..well, anyway, those people already knew about them, and Zhao Yelan could reluctantly accept it.

“I also went to the covert guard barracks to ask the commander about the defense situation.”

En, there were not too many covert guards, and they kept their mouths shut, so nothing major would happen.

“In the afternoon, I went to the vegetable market.”

This was unbearable. Zhao Yelan slapped the table: “What were you doing in the vegetable market?!”

“Don’t you want to eat delicacies? The cook said that the usual shopkeeper was out of stock, so I ordered some specially.”

Zhao Yelan looked at him silently.

“Then I walked around the market, bought some wine at Huichun Tower, and won some silver at the casino…..”

“You went to the brothel.”

“I passed by, but I didn’t go in. I was very careful, okay?” Yan Mingting said confidently, patting his chest.

“I think you did it on purpose!” Zhao Yelan grabbed his neck. “How do you expect me to go out and face people? Today, neither of us can continue living!”

Housekeeper Qin heard the commotion and went to the door to see that Zhao Yelan had strangled the General until his face turned red. He was about to go in and stop him, but was carried away by Xiao Gao.

“Let me down, my lord is about to strangle the General to death!”

Xiao Gao was calm: “The General won’t die so easily.”

For several days in a row, Zhao Yelan didn’t dare to go out onto the street. There were sedan chairs to take him to the Imperial Academy, and he never went to crowded places.

But the rumors outside didn’t subside at all, because Gu Niaoniao continued to send him news in a very hateful manner —

“On the streets today, I heard someone discussing the matter between you and General Yan, saying that you are quite capable.”

“The gambling house is betting on what time you went to the bridal chamber.”

“You haven’t stepped out of the gate, are you feeling shy? Ah? Little daughter-in-law Zhao?”

Zhao Yelan tore up the letter furiously: “Come, I want to go to the street!”

Yan Mingting was practicing with his sword in the courtyard. When he heard that he was about to go out, he shamelessly followed him and abducted him to the door of the pharmacy when he wasn’t paying attention: “The Minister of the Ministry of War recommended a kind of medicinal material to me, saying that it was very nourishing for the body. Shall I buy some for you to try?”

“If you want to eat it, you can eat it yourself.” Zhao Yelan shot him a sideways glance, then turned and left.

Yan Mingting stopped in front of him again, tugging at his sleeve and begging: “Just buy a little, okay?”

“I won’t take it.”

“Let me taste the bitterness for you first, how about we go buy some candied fruit later?”

Seeing him thinking seriously, Yan Mingting tugged on his sleeve while the iron was hot: “Let’s get some, ba, if it’s useless, we’ll just throw it away.”

At this time, Yan Mingting caught a glimpse of a nearby figure from the corner of his eye and froze abruptly.

There were too many people around, so Kan Chuan didn’t come forward to say hello. He gave him a slight nod and walked into the pharmacy, but when he passed by them, he couldn’t help but press his fist against his lips, and the corners of his mouth were raised high —

It turned out that this was what General Yan meant about being so obedient, ah.

He really couldn’t see any obedience at all.

Yan Mingting’s face was damaged, and he desperately wanted to flee. But after walking a few steps, he remembered that he hadn’t bought any medicine yet, so he turned around and ran into the pharmacy, quickly bought a big bag, and rushed out in embarrassment without even looking at Kan Chuan. He took Zhao Yelan’s hand and left quickly.

The temperature in autumn changed rapidly. Although the sun was still high at noon, it was necessary to add layers at night to protect against the chilly autumn wind.

Not only did Zhao Yelan add a middle layer, but he also put on a cloak. The collar was fluffy, and Yan Mingting couldn’t put it down. He played with it distractedly until his face was grasped.

Zhao Yelan was so annoyed that he kicked him out into the courtyard.

Yan Mingting practiced swordplay there, drinking alone under the moonlight. His body was full of vitality, and he moved like the wind.

Zhao Yelan watched for a while and saw that he was still wearing thin clothes, but didn’t feel cold at all. He was a little envious and took off his cloak, walking forward to say: “Teach me, ba.”

“You want to learn the sword?”

Zhao Yelan nodded. It was fine to learn swordsmanship or knives, as long as he could protect himself with his own strength.

“Okay.” Yan Mingting put away his sword and walked up to him. “Run three laps first, and then do horse stance for half an hour.”

“……”

“Haste makes waste. You can’t even stand on your legs, but you want to fly?”

After a long period of mental preparation, Zhao Yelan finally decided to follow his arrangement of running three laps per day, and strode forward.

It was difficult at first, and took a lot of effort to go around. He wanted to give up several times, but fortunately, Yan Mingting kept talking to him at his side the whole time. He didn’t need to answer, and his attention was diverted. This was still not enough. Yan Mingting also called all the servants in the mansion to run with him. Every time one fell behind, he praised Zhao Yelan for another victory.

Later, the servants refused to admit defeat and began to run desperately. Zhao Yelan’s desire to win was also aroused. He refused to fall behind and could only grit his teeth and persevere.

After several days, he was finally able to run three laps, and his horse stance was more up to standard.

That night, Zhao Yelan was just about to run when Yan Mingting called him out. He walked to the gate and saw that Yan Mingting was leading two horses, smiling at him: “Is it time to try horseback riding?”

Zhao Yelan was eager to try, but he had never been on a horse alone and was a little worried.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t you still have me by your side?”

Yan Mingting himself rode a sweat-blood horse,^[1] but had him ride a snow-white horse.

Zhao Yelan tried a few times before finally mounting the horse, and asked: “Why didn’t you give me the sweat-blood horse?”

“You wouldn’t be able to control it, but this horse is very suitable for you.” Yan Mingting smiled and said, “It’s pretty and conspicuous, and you can be spotted at a glance at night.”

Zhao Yelan just gave up and rode his horse leisurely, following him to the training grounds.

There was no one at the training grounds, just the two of them in the huge space. While leading his horse, Yan Mingting patiently explained to him how to steer, and then let him go by himself.

He walked very slowly at first. The horse was not obedient and kept running to other places, and every time he was frightened, he hurriedly called Yan Mingting. Yan Mingting always showed up at the critical moment to bring the horse back to the right path and keep him safe and sound.

Gradually, he came to realize that with Yan Mingting around, he wouldn’t be injured, so he simply let go.

Half an hour later, he was finally able to run on horseback, and shouted excitedly: “Yan Mingting, Yan Mingting, look quickly!”

He turned his head to look to the side. Yan Mingting was smiling silently at him, and he also smiled.

After returning, Zhao Yelan was still a little unfulfilled and made an appointment with him to go back tomorrow night. But when he lowered his head, he noticed that the other had kept his left hand behind his back.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zhao Yelan frowned, pulled his hand out, and found a deep red ligature mark on his palm. “Were you injured just now?”

The horse had run wildly several times, and each time Yan Mingting flew over and reined it in. He was so calm that Zhao Yelan didn’t even notice it.

“It’s just a small injury, you go take a bath first.”

“I won’t go tomorrow,” Zhao Yelan said.

“How can this be done? This sort of thing must be done smoothly in one go. How can you spend three days fishing and two days drying the net?” Yan Mingting said.

“But…..”

“Don’t worry. You’ve mastered the basics now, and if you slack off, you’ll have to start all over again. You don’t want me to have suffered this pain for nothing, do you? Also, don’t you want to participate in the fall hunt?”

Zhao Yelan was slightly surprised: “You noticed?”

“At the last spring hunt, you were ready to try. How could you give up such a good opportunity this time? After all, you have the best teacher,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan smiled: “Yes. Then, Teacher Yan, I would like to kiss you now. Is that all right?”

“You have Teacher’s permission.”

Before they knew it, it was the day of the autumn hunt. Everyone had already mastered the procedures. After entering the camp, they greeted each other and waited for the Emperor to speak.

After the official start, as before, there were still two groups of people. One party drank wine and tea at the camp, while the other party entered the hunting grounds to hunt.

Li Yucheng still participated this time. He rushed in with a few followers and made an appointment with Fu Qian to compete to see who took the most and biggest prey.

After he went in, he didn’t immediately look for prey, but waited a while for Yan Mingting. He made a small calculation, planning to follow Yan Mingting to pick up anything that leaked by him.

However, he not only waited for Yan Mingting, but for Zhao Yelan.

“Why are you here? You can do this?!” Li Yucheng was dumbfounded.

Zhao Yelan was wearing a black outfit that made his skin look whiter than jade. His waist was narrow and his hair was all tied up, revealing his delicate facial features. The visual impact was strong, and he looked radiant. When the wind blew, his hair fluttered. There was a wooden hairpin inserted into it, the one Yan Mingting personally carved for him.

His whole person was glowing with health and vigor, which was very eye-catching.

Li Yucheng circled him twice with novelty: “Aiyo, you used to be a black-bellied scholar, but now you suddenly turned into an extravagant young man on a strong horse. How can we live, ah……no, how can Fu Qian live, ah? I’ll turn around and go smash his signboard of the most handsome man.”

Zhao Yelan didn’t quarrel with him, but turned to ask Yan Mingting: “Where are we going?”

Yan Mingting tilted his head, and the two of them rode their horses in that direction together. The sound of horseshoes startled the birds in the forest.

“My lord, do we still want to follow?” A follower asked.

“We won’t follow.” Li Yucheng didn’t want to follow behind these two people. Watching them flirt was too much for him, an old bachelor. “Let’s go a different way.”

However, after going around in a circle, Li Yucheng unexpectedly found nothing. Seeing ferocious prey, he didn’t dare to approach. Seeing the average prey, he was one step too slow, and the group of military officials swept it away like picking something out of a bag.

“Forget it, let’s go hunt wild rabbits.” This was more suitable for him. He continued to walk forward with his people, but found a crowd in front of him and walked over curiously. “What are you looking at?”

“Looking at the rabbits,” one person turned around to say.

“Rabbits? Leave it to me!” Li Yucheng dismounted his horse and picked up his bow and arrow, squeezing into the crowd, only to find a gap in the middle that contained only Yan Mingting, Zhao Yelan, and a group of wild rabbits.

“Watching Zhao-daren shoot the rabbits,” the man added.

“ ? ”

Li Yucheng watched for a while, and finally understood the situation.

This Yan Mingting didn’t go hunting leopards and tigers, but drove all the rabbits here to let Zhao Yelan practice!

Zhao Yelan had learned equestrian skills well, but he had only practiced the bow and arrow for a short while. The day of the hunt had come, and his accuracy was a bit off. Nine out of ten times, he missed the target, and one time he almost shot Yan Mingting.

While watching, everyone couldn’t help but cheer for Zhao Yelan.

Li Yucheng’s heart itched unbearably. There were so many rabbits here. As soon as he drew his bow, a man stood in front of him.

“Don’t shoot the rabbits here while he’s playing,” Yan Mingting said.

“What’s wrong with giving me one or two?” Li Yucheng said, “Could it be that these are all yours?”

“Yes, I caught them all with my own hands, so don’t try to snatch my prey away.”

“……”

The people next to him whispered to Li Yucheng: “Don’t you know why we didn’t do anything? General Yan refused to let us, ah!”

Li Yucheng: It’s amazing to know martial arts, ah!

Zhao Yelan frowned and looked around. Seeing so many people watching, he lost interest.

Seeing this, Yan Minting quickly shooed people away: “Go, go, go. Everyone scatter, don’t come near here. There is a time for hunting and a time for resting.”

After everyone retreated, Yan Mingting said: “Okay, come on, keep trying. Don’t be impatient. Find the target first, then judge the trajectory before you shoot.”

Zhao Yelan drew the bow and held his breath. He stared at the grazing rabbit, predicted its possible direction of escape, and shot the arrow. The rabbit heard the movement and instinctively jumped forward, taking the arrow in the heart.

“I shot it?” Zhao Yelan stared at the fallen rabbit in disbelief.

“En, you hit it!” Yan Mingting happily picked up the rabbit. “That’s amazing, Mengting.”

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth curled up and his confidence soared. The previous disappointment was swept away, and he started again with great interest.

Half an hour later, he looked at the four rabbits he shot and was very satisfied. But his hands were exhausted, so he put down his bow and leaned against a tree, looking down at his hands.

“Come, take some medicine.” Yan Mingting took out a bottle of wound medicine and rubbed it between his palms to warm it, then rubbed it on his hands. “Your hands will be sore tomorrow, it’s normal.”

Zhao Yelan nodded, looking at the medicine in his hands with a smile in his eyes.

This fellow, knowing he was going to hurt, didn’t tell him to stop, but prepared the medicine and waited for him to call out that he was tired and sore.

“Are you injured?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“What kind of injury could I suffer? I only caught a few rabbits.”

“I’ll examine you,” Zhao Yelan said. He pulled his collar to look in, then reached in with his hand and felt around, raising his eyes. “It seems you aren’t hurt.”

Yan Mingting froze. Looking into his eyes that were smiling but not smiling, he knew that he was being deliberately teased, but still willingly fell into the trap and bowed his head to kiss him.

Not far away, Zhao Xuan was leading people to search for the tiger, but when he saw the two figures, he stopped suddenly and stretched out his hand to keep his followers silent.

At dusk, a warm yellow halo fell on the treetops, and a few rays of light sprinkled obliquely onto the two people as they leaned against the tree and kissed like no one else was there.

Zhao Xuan looked at them silently. Although he couldn’t see Zhao Yelan’s expression clearly, just from the back view, it could be seen that he was not being forced, but rather enjoying it.

It was the hunting grounds, after all, and colleagues may appear at any time. Yan Mingting kissed him lightly for a moment, but when he raised his eyes, he caught sight of Zhao Xuan’s figure appearing at the end of the path and his eyes sank.

“What is it?” Zhao Yelan looked up at him, and was about to follow his line of sight and turn around, when Yan Mingting held his face.

“It’s nothing.” Yan Mingting lowered his head and kissed his lips again. “Let’s continue.”

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[1] A sweat-blood horse (汗血宝马) is an endangered breed whose sweat is a brown-red color. Some researchers think that the blood-colored sweat is caused by a certain parasite. ⮐

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Chapter Seventy-Five <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Seven

A general and his war horse lived and died together on the battlefield. Therefore, horse trainers would pay special attention to teach them from an early age not to accept food from strangers, so that this could not be taken advantage of by villains in the future. And Xuan Jiao’s vigilance was higher than that of ordinary war horses, in addition to being naturally fierce and aggressive. When it was at the northwest camp, it kicked and injured several groomers who tried to approach it, and even Cheng Suyue nearly lost a rib once.

Liang Shu frowned: “You’ve fed it several times on the road?”

Liu Xian’an sipped at the remaining sweetness on the tip of his tongue: “En, soy bean radish cake with some added herbs. A-Ning made them himself, and it was originally prepared as nighttime food for the pony.”

The pony was Liu Xian’an’s red-haired mare. Like its owner, it had a docile personality and a slow pace. It had gained weight recently, its whole body shaking when it ran. Liang Shu originally thought that Xuan Jiao would scoff at such a fat little horse that was neither good-looking nor useful, and continued to ask: “Why are you feeding my horse?”

“I didn’t take the initiative to feed it, it came to ask for some by itself.” Liu Xian’an stretched his muscles vigorously. “But don’t worry, my lord. I know that war horses have to pay special attention to food and drink, so I only gave it half a bite each time, less than two mouthfuls. If that is no good, then I’ll go back and tell A-Ning not to feed it in the future.”

Liang Shu felt as if he had just seen a ghost. Why did everyone from Xiao Wang Palace, from people to horses, have a big change of temperament upon meeting this Sleeping Immortal? Never mind Cheng Suyue, she was a young girl, after all, and would take the initiative to restrain herself when she saw a good-looking man. This could just barely be explained, but what sort of wrong medicine did Gao Lin and Xuan Jiao take? His Royal Highness Xiao Wang even began to wonder whether in the Three Thousand Worlds, there was a world dedicated to teaching people how to cast curses – it was hard to say, ah. After all, there should have been a lot of old, white-bearded men who died in ancient times, and it was hard to guarantee that one or two with ulterior motives wouldn’t get in.

Liu Xian’an yawned and returned to his room to change his clothes. He was really sleepy, but also really hungry, and the combination of sleepiness and hunger made his movements slower. Liang Shu had just ordered the guards at the door to call Cheng Suyue over, and when he turned around, he saw Liu Xian’an wrapped in a loose robe. With half-closed eyes, he took one step onto the threshold with his left foot, stepped on his left foot with his right foot, and fell to the ground with a plop. 

After that, he didn’t move any more, and lay down as peacefully as a mountain, unmoved by wind or rain.

Liang Shu: “…….”

A guard hurried forward to help him up: “Second Young Master Liu, are you all right? Do you want to go back to the room and rest for a while?”

Presently, A-Ning also returned with food. There was nothing good on the mountain, only two pancakes and a bowl of soup. From a distance, he saw Liu Xian’an sitting at the table in a trance with a dirty face and sighed deeply: “Young Master, you fell asleep while walking again?”

This tone of voice was not one of surprise, and it could be seen that Second Young Master Liu was a habitual offender in this respect. A-Ning quickly wrung out a handkerchief and wiped his hands and face clean before stuffing him with cakes. Liu Xian’an didn’t open his eyes the whole time. Liang Shu watched in amazement and thought that with such an expression, it would not be impossible to directly move him to a temple and put him on a high platform, wrapping him in a piece of cloth to pretend he was a clay sculpture.

After Liu Xian’an finished eating two pieces of cake with his eyes closed, he was almost awake. He stood up and glanced around, asking, “Where is the prince?”

“He left a long time ago. Before leaving, he told the young master to rest more and go to the morgue after getting enough sleep, so as not to plunge into Du Jing’s arms.”

Liu Xian’an thought about Du Jing’s “bosom” that he couldn’t look straight at right then, and felt that it would be okay to sleep a little longer. Thus, he rinsed his mouth and went to bed, rolling up in the blanket to go visit the god of dreams again. This time the ancient sages did not appear in the bamboo forest, but he met His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. Sitting on a white crane with his very long sword, he asked leisurely: “This is your Three Thousand Ways?”

Although Liu Xian’an was a little surprised, the new guest was still very welcome, so he rode a white crane and stopped in front of him, only to find that Liang Shu had a lot of blood on his body, some of which was very fresh, dying a large area of the pure white crane feathers red.

For the first time in this pure world, there were other colors. Liu Xian’an sighed and wanted to take him to the spring to wash away the blood, and then eat some spiritual fruits. But he met a group of barefoot sages who seemed to be drunk, talking about how there was “no dao in the world,” and “I will not be an official for life, my ambitions are forthright,” so he hurriedly pulled this person along to quietly go to another place.

The scenery was more elegant and beautiful than the spring. Thin waterfalls streamed down from the top of the mountain, splashing into thousands of ripples. The fallen flower petals on the shore were colorful, the spiritual grass swayed, and a few little jade rabbits would run past from time to time. This was the place that Second Young Master Liu usually liked to visit, and it could be regarded as his private territory.

Liang Shu asked: “Why are you afraid that I will see them?”

Liu Xian’an sat on the rocks on the shore, watching him bathe: “Because they advocate inaction and uselessness, avoiding the world to protect themselves.” 

They’re different from you. If you meet, you would probably have to fight them.

Liang Shu was immersed in the water, with only half of his shoulders exposed: “Inaction and uselessness, ignoring troubled times and suffering?”

“That isn’t it.” Liu Xian’an propped up his head and thought for a while, replying, “Doing nothing is doing something. If you do something, the world will be at peace, if you do nothing, you can still govern. If there is nothing to do, you will live a long time.”

Liang Shu scoffed coldly: “They should all be exiled into the chaotic world to take a good look at how useful inaction can be.”

Liu Xian’an felt that His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was really not very friendly, and would chase away his good friends as soon as he came, so he carefully told him: “If you come again in the future, just wait for me underneath this waterfall, don’t run around, okay?”

Liang Shu snorted, expressing his full disdain for such a proposal, and stood up from the water. His figure was solid and strong, and water droplets slid down his chest from his shoulders, disappearing into the water below his waist. Looking at the blurred shadow in the reflection, Liu Xian’an hurriedly said: “Don’t move, I’ll find you some clothes –”

Splash.

His Royal Highness Xiao Wang stood on the shore and said: “I don’t like to wear white.”

Liu Xian’an stared at him, dumbfounded.

Then we woke up from the dream.

He sat up suddenly with his heart beating extremely fast. The shadow under the water’s surface became extremely clear, and he took a breath of cold air, pulling the blanket over his head. He didn’t understand how he could dream with such detail. At this time, the sky outside was already dark and all was quiet. A-Ning had gone to rest long ago, so no one noticed the strange behavior of Second Young Master Liu in the middle of the night.

He felt that this was really a breach of etiquette. His Royal Highness Xiao Wang came as a guest, but he couldn’t even dream up some clothes for him. Lying in the dark under the blanket for a while, Liu Xian’an felt his heartbeat calm down a little, so he sat up again, hugging his knees as he looked out the window for some time.

The moonlight that night was very bright, so bright that it was a little strange, and the silver disc had a reddish edge. The mountains and fields stretched as far as the eye could see. Tall blades of grass bent in the wind and echoes swirled, wu wu sha sha, in weeping and complaint.

Sometimes, a space that was too quiet could easily make people feel suffocated. Liu Xian’an wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, getting out of bed to drink a glass of water at the table. He felt that he couldn’t sleep anyway, so he might as well go finish the autopsy.

Thus, he picked up a small oil lamp and went to work.

The candles in the morgue were lit one by one, and Liu Xian’an closed the doors and windows, leaving only a gap for ventilation. Du Jing’s corpse looked a hundred times more hideous than in the daytime. Liu Xian’an got closer to observe carefully, wondering if the Gu worms were still wandering, or if it was the candlelight swaying too much.

Liang Shu stood outside the window, looking through the gap as Liu Xian’an nearly put his own face into it……disregarding other things for the time being, didn’t he think that thing was disgusting?

Cheng Suyue was also there. She was originally sent by Liang Shu to buy sugar cakes, but after going down the mountain, all the shops were closed, so there were no sugar cakes for sale. But Cheng-guniang knew her prince’s temper, so she knocked on the door of a pastry shop and asked the boss to steam a pot right then, so she came back a little late.

Holding the warm pastries in her arms, she said with emotion, deeply moved: “Second Young Master Liu is really amazing.”

Her voice was very soft, but Liu Xian’an had excellent hearing, so he stopped what he was doing and turned his head to look out the window.

Liang Shu took the sugar cakes from Cheng Suyue and motioned for her to go back and rest, while he pushed open the wooden door: “When did you come?”

“Just now, not long ago.” Seeing His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, Liu Xian’an promptly remembered the matter of bathing in the waterfall, so he chose to continue to lower his head and look at Du Jing, his heart pounding like he was flying high in the sky.

Liang Shu didn’t know what had happened in the Three Thousand Worlds, so he called to him: “Wash your hands and go out to eat something first.”

Liu Xian’an picked up a Gu worm with tweezers: “Won’t eat, I haven’t finished my work yet, and I’m not hungry. Your Highness, share it with others.”

Liang Shu was displeased: “Didn’t you ask for sugar cakes? Hurry up.”

After speaking, he went out. In a while, Liu Xian’an followed him and the two found a flat stone. Liang Shu handed him the sugar cakes and untied a wine bag from his waist.

Lui Xian’an used bamboo sticks tied together to take a bite, and the sweet osmanthus honey flowed out. It was different from what the chefs at Baihe Mountain Village made, but just as delicious. The summer nights nowadays were no longer cold. It was very comfortable to eat warm snacks with the cool wind blowing.

Liang Shu unscrewed the wine bag.

Liu Xian’an’s nose was also very sharp. He asked: “Is it West Wind Yin?”

Liang Shu was surprised: “You know how to drink?”

“I drink it often,” Liu Xian’an said.

Not to get drunk, just a small drink. The best time to drink was when you were half asleep and half awake. Close your eyes, and you could ascend to the ten thousand palaces, and reach the stars and moon together with the immortals.

Liang Shu handed him the wine bag.

Liu Xian’an took a sip. It was choking and spicy, as fierce as the northwest wind, and made people unable to open their eyes. But after the heat passed, there was a lingering sweetness.

“It’s good wine.” He returned the wine bag and continued to eat his sugar cakes, remembering to ask, “The master named Lu Shou, how did the prince investigate him? Is he also a member of the Baifu Sect?”

“No,” Liang Shu said, “Don’t worry about him anymore. Shi Hanhai has already discovered that he is a dim-witted fool.”

As for Du Jing’s disciples, they failed to find anything useful. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to confess, but that they desperately wanted to confess yet knew very little about the inside story, and for a long time could only say that Du Jing was deeply trusted by the Baifu Sect. That was why he was sent to Chixia City to release Gu. If things went well this time, he would follow suit and do the same in other towns.

“Is this the purpose of the cult?” Liu Xian’an asked. “First throw the world into chaos, then appear as a savior. This method sounds nothing out of the ordinary.”

“But to bewitch people, it is enough to create a false god,” Liang Shu said. “There is another thing. According to their confessions, the Gu worms this time were concocted by the Great Hierarch himself. After several years of painstaking research, he was already very self-satisfied and claimed that even Master Liu Zhuang of Baihe Mountain Village would not be able to detect it.”

As a result, Second Young Master Liu shattered the conspiracy within half a day of going up the mountain. It could be seen that no matter how these idiots tried, there would be no results. It would be best not to try.

Liu Xian’an said: “But it’s really not difficult.”

Liang Shu said: “That’s the sentence, that’s the tone of voice. When you meet the leader of the Baifu Sect in the future, you repeat that to him and see if you can kill him on the spot and spare the executioner’s sword.”

Smiling, Liu Xian’an wrapped up the remaining sugar cake: “I can finish up with Du Jing’s corpse another day. Will the prince also stay on the mountain for now?”

Liang Shu shook his head: “As for who the official is who cooperated with Du Jing in exchanging grains, I now have a clue. I want to finish this matter first.”

“Then go and get busy, you don’t have to worry about things on the mountain,” Liu Xian’an said. “I will take good care of these people.”

Liang Shu sent the man back to the morgue, looked at the old, loose robes on his body, and asked: “Do you want me to send you some clothes?”

Liu Xian’an was taken aback: “Ah?”

He looked down at his clothes. There was nothing wrong with them, so he said cautiously and guiltily: “Your Highness……doesn’t like white?”

---

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Chapter Fourteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixteen

Liu Xian’an was still wearing that fake mask at this time. The corners of his eyes drooped, and coupled with his stiff and innocent expression, Liang Shu’s scalp felt numb for a moment. So he strode up and groped behind his ears, taking off the whole mask, and only then did he find him more pleasing to the eye.

Du Jing was already dead after biting the poison pill in his mouth, so dead that nine cows could not pull him back. Liang Shu kicked his corpse over and looked at his round-eyed, distorted expression. He frowned and asked: “You call this lifelike?”

Liu Xian’an touched his cheek where the mask had been torn off and argued: “He really looked alive just now.”

But now he did not look alive. After Du Jing committed suicide by taking poison, his blood vessels and tendons showed a strange tendency to contract, like the drawstring of a bag being pulled tight. This caused his limbs to curl up and his facial features to become deformed, and his seven orifices were bleeding black blood, which could be regarded as truly terrifying.

Liu Xian’an spoke again: “The poison was hidden in his tooth. I’m afraid he already expected this day to come. No matter how cautious Cheng-guniang was, she couldn’t prevent this.”

Liang Shu had seen a lot of people who committed suicide, but there were only a few types of quick-working poison. A person like Du Jing not only wanted to die, but also died so painfully and strangely……he didn’t know why, but he felt that the other party’s staring eyes seemed to be filled with some kind of sinister curse or evil practices, so he kicked him over again.

“Can you find out what the poison is?” he asked.

“I can try, but it might take a while.”

What’s more, there were over fifty people on the mountain who had been infected with Gu, so he had to take his time on them one by one. Liu Xian’an continued: “It’s best to keep them here temporarily. By treating them well and sending them down the mountain one at a time, it will be convenient for them to see a doctor and the people in the city will not be panicked.”

“You are a doctor, you can arrange the treatment yourself,” Liang Shu said. “There are only two serious doctors left in Chixia City. One of them must go to the clinic, and it is said that the other does not have very good medical skills. It is estimated that it will take more than ten days for Gao Lin to return. During this time, the people on the mountain can only rely on you and A-Ning.”

“All right,” Liu Xian’an answered. “I will take good care of them.”

Liang Shu nodded, and ordered Cheng Suyue and two guards to carry Du Jing’s body to an empty room and sprinkle lime around it.

The common people did not know what had happened yet. They only knew that someone was killed outside, and were all terrified, hiding in their rooms and not daring to come out. A few reckless, senseless people got together to discuss and came to a half-baked conclusion. This was probably a disease that could not be cured, so the government wanted to kill them to prevent future troubles, ah! So they rushed to the kitchen and picked up kitchen knives, planning to break out of the siege. Occupy the mountain as kings! Fuck their mothers!

As a result, they ran into Liu Xian’an as soon as they left the house.

Second Young Master Liu was taken aback by this group of blustering people: “What are you trying to do?”

This group of people were also taken aback by Second Young Master Liu, because the sudden appearance of a glowing immortal in the wild, barren mountains made them feel that they were already dead.

After a while, someone had the courage to ask: “Who are you?”

Liu Xian’an continued to walk inside with a medicine basket in his hand: “I’m a doctor. Don’t worry, everyone will recover soon and go down the mountain. Shi-daren is at the mountain gate now, and he will send a new batch of supplies soon.”

“Really?” The rest of the people unconsciously followed behind him and temporarily let go of their ambition to occupy the mountain and become kings. “But we just heard someone being killed outside.”

“It was Du Jing who was killed.” Liu Xian’an hid nothing. “He was not a good person. The so-called ‘plague’ this time was a man-made disaster planned by him alone. His Royal Highness Xiao Wang just arrested all of his disciples. After the interrogation, the government will give everyone an explanation soon.”

“Ah!” There was a sudden cry from a man in the crowd, like apes calling from both sides of the bank, which scared everyone. Liu Xian’an looked at him in surprise, thinking it was another symptom of Gu poison.

As a result, the other party was so excited that he was incoherent: “His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, who guards the northwest? I also guarded the northwest border a few years ago. When the prince was inspecting the army, he even took a glance at me from a distance.”

Liu Xian’an was amused by his stammering appearance: “Yes, ah, it’s His Royal Highness Xiao Wang who guards the northwest. After you recover from your illness, just stay on the mountain to help, and the prince should look at you more this time.”

Hearing that a prince of the royal court was on the mountain, everyone had no reason to worry, so they quickly hid the knives in their sleeves. At this time, someone noticed that Liu Xian’an’s clothing looked familiar, and asked: “That, that doctor surnamed Shi is also…..”

“It is me, I was disguised.”

The crowd immediately became even more excited, because the disguise technique really sounded like something from the jianghu. They didn’t expect that with their illness, they would become part of a jianghu conspiracy. There was a doctor like an immortal, a royal prince, and a dead villain. Could they not boast about this for three years after going down the mountain?

Liu Xian’an listened to the chatter of the audience. At first he was still smiling and thought it was lively, but later he found it too noisy and could not help but send his thoughts thousands of li away, wandering in a daze beyond the dust and dirt. It wasn’t until the bridge of his nose was knocked lightly that he came back to his senses: “Ah?”

Liang Shu looked at him with admiration: “I thought you could only wander off when you were sitting down.”

Looking around, Liu Xian’an found that the crowd had dispersed at some point. Liang Shu took the medicine basket from him and put it on the other side of the platform: “Tired? If not, let’s go look at Du Jing’s body together.”

“Okay.” Liu Xian’an jogged two steps and walked side by side with him, asking, “The prince also killed those disciples of Du Jing?”

Liang Shu didn’t understand: “Why should I kill them all, can’t I keep two for interrogation?”

Liu Xian’an said: “You can. But after all the flying sand and rocks just now, it seemed really difficult for anyone to survive.”

Liang Shu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He reached out to grab his hair tie. Then he remembered that Gao Lin was not here to see him, and pulled it again.

The two of them arrived at the morgue with a lack of seriousness. Du Jing had already been undressed and covered with a white cloth. Liu Xian’an donned gloves and a mask, motioned for Liang Shu to cover his mouth and nose, and then lifted the cover.

There were many protruding veins on Du Jing’s body, and some of them were even moving back and forth. There was a tattoo on his chest, and Liu Xian’an leaned closer to carefully examine it: “It looks like a green python pattern. Has the prince seen it before?”

“I’ve seen it,” Liang Shu said. “Baifu Sect.”

“It turned out to be a disciple of the Baifu Sect. No wonder he would rather commit suicide than be captured.” Liu Xian’an said, “One year when my elder brother went out to visit friends, he picked up a dying man by the side of the road. Aftwards, at least twenty kinds of Gu worms were taken out of him, but the person died in the end. It is said that this is the method used by the Baifu Sect to deal with traitors.”

Liang Shu stared at the green python tattoo: “This is also Emperor Brother’s secret worry.”

At first, the practices of the Baifu Sect only spread in the southwest mountains. It did not grow very large, so the imperial court only sent local officials to deal with it. Unexpectedly, this cult suddenly grew stronger in recent years, stirring up several cities on the border. They were as secretive and cautious as mice, and would immediately retreat to their nests at the slightest hint of trouble. In addition, the southwest forests were very dense, with a lingering miasma everywhere. It was difficult to completely wipe them out, therefore the Imperial court was extremely troubled.

“Chixia City is still some distance away from the southwest, yet their tendrils have reached out,” Liu Xian’an said. “From ancient times to the present, almost all cults have formed in the name of the true, the good, and the pure, but in fact they have infinitely magnified the dark side of human nature. This Baifu Sect should be no exception. They seem to be unwilling to be confined to the southwest.”

Liang Shu said: “After the interrogations are over, I will report this matter to Emperor Brother as soon as possible.”

Taking the small knife at the side, Liu Xian’an first concentrated on the anatomical techniques written in the books, and then cut open the body simply and neatly with one knife.

Liang Shu never thought he would be so quick and skillful without having to think. His eyebrows twitched and his image of daily life in Baihe Mountain Village became gloomy again. But Li Xian’an stopped his hands at this moment and said: “There are a lot of Gu worms, does the prince want to have a look?”

Liang Shu: “…….”

Logically speaking, these were all contents of a person’s stomach, which was not an uncommon sight on the battlefield for His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, but he had never seen it in so much detail. There were many candles in the room, illuminating every corner very brightly. Second Young Master Liu’s face was still that of an immortal, but his hands were covered in dripping blood as he held a piece of some unknown thing, and his eyes were still very innocent. This scene was truly strange. Liang Shu saw too much and felt a pain in his temples. He was uncomfortable, and for some reason, he suddenly wanted to wash off all the blood on the other’s body and then throw him back into the incomparably clean Three Thousand Ways floating in the clouds.

Liu Xian’an didn’t pay much attention to the surrounding environment. He focused his attention on the corpse and put all kinds of Gu worms into the prepared white porcelain jars one by one. There were close to a hundred of them, and he stopped halfway, feeling a little dizzy.

Liang Shu asked: “Is it over?”

“No.” Liu Xian’an asked, “Is there any sugar cake? I’m hungry.”

Liang Shu was in disbelief. Can you stare at this thing and still be hungry?

Liu Xian’an explained: “I’m a little dizzy.”

“Take a break, ba,” Liang Shu said. “Take off your gloves and change your clothes. I’ll ask A-Ning to get some food.”

Liu Xian’an nodded. When the situation was not urgent, his movements were always very slow. Now that he was tired and dizzy, his movements were even slower. He slowly took off the gloves, slowly removed the mask, slowly washed his hands, and then slowly walked out behind His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

Liang Shu supported his wobbly body: “You could stand upright just now, so why are you staggering when you go out?”

“Because there’s no need to stand up right now.” The life of Second Young Master Liu had always been based on “necessary, must be done” and “not necessary, try not to do it.” Swaying back and forth, he yawned vigorously. “Besides, if I stood up straight just now, I might fall headfirst into……Mm.”

He licked the small, hard lump in his mouth with his tongue. It was sweet.

“Your Highness brought sweets?” 

Liang Shu said: “Swallow.”

Liu Xian’an crunch crunched the peanuts and walnuts. They were very tasty.

Liang Shu went on to say: “It’s for feeding the horses.”

Liu Xian’an was not fooled. He continued to crunch crunch: “Xuan Jiao doesn’t eat sugar.”

Liang Shu handed him another nut: “You also read that in a book?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “No, I’ve fed it several times on the road.”

Liang Shu: “…….”

When did this happen?

---

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Chapter Thirteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifteen

Zhao Yelan dreamed about a very inconspicuous incident.

When he was fifteen years old, he had already demonstrated his talents in front of outsiders. Several other princes knew of his existence and sent people to win him over.

One of the dirtiest methods was seduction. He was taken to a tea house, but when the door was closed, a few wisps of incense smoke were lit in the room and several young women wrapped in tulle came out to flirt with him and touch his face.

This was the most vigorous age, where many people experienced the taste of love, but he was indifferent.

He was thinking internally, who sent these women, and how would they treat him if he was drawn over? If those people were killed, could he escape unscathed?

The beauties tried their best to seduce him, but found that not only did he not respond physically, but his face became more and more gloomy. They couldn’t help feeling a little frightened, and retreated to the side.

In the end, Zhao Xuan arrived in time and took him back. He couldn’t help but joke: “What’s the matter with you? There was really no reaction at all?”

What response could be given?

The way Zhao Yelan looked at them was like looking at the fish on the chopping board or an aspect of business, nothing unusual.

But seeing Zhao Xuan’s surprised face, it seemed that this was an abnormal response, so he said lightly: “Maybe I don’t like women, ba.”

Don’t like women?

Zhao Xuan gave him a strange look: “Then you like men?”

Zhao Yelan didn’t answer, because how could he tell Zhao Xuan about something he didn’t even know himself?

He just thought that the most idiotic behavior was to put all of his thoughts on another person.

He wanted many things, but that did not include women.

It was hard for him to believe that he would give up those things for someone, let alone show all of himself to another.

He lived pitifully but proudly, never letting others see his deepest scars.

Half asleep and half awake, he felt warmth against his back. Yan Mingting was kissing his brand again. He seemed to love kissing that place very much, half in pity and half in affection. It was warm and ticklish. Zhao Yelan kept his eyes closed, moved a couple of times, and then was embraced from behind.

His eyes remained closed as he felt Yan Mingting’s heartbeat. It was very fast, very powerful, and the lively strength and temperature were continuously transmitted to him.

Thinking of that dream, the corners of his mouth relaxed, then turned up slightly.

It could be seen that as one grew older, one’s ideas would also change. He not only put his thoughts on another person, but he also accepted the other person wholeheartedly, showing all of his scars.

This was a very miraculous thing for him. After some thought, it would be impossible for him to face another person like this again. Yan Mingting was the only one.

When he woke up completely, the bedside was empty. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, he took a while to lift the blanket. He had just taken two steps away from the bed when his expression changed. Looking down at his shaking legs, his eyes darkened.

“You’re awake.” Yan Mingting’s figure appeared at the door of the room, and he entered in high spirits with a bowl of porridge and some steamed buns. “Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?”

Zhao Yelan propped one hand on the table next to him while staring at him.

Yan Mingting set down the food and walked up to him, touched his forehead, and carried him back to bed without a word: “Fortunately, you’re not sick.”

“What act are you performing for me now?” Zhao Yelan scolded him.

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s all my fault.”

Yan Mingting crouched by the bed, admitting his mistake very sincerely. If only he was so obedient when he called for him to stop several times last night.

The more Zhao Yelan thought about it, the angrier he became, and he kicked his shoulder: “Get out, I don’t want to see you.”

Yan Mingting brought the food in front of him with a smile: “Don’t be so angry, eat something first, ba. This is the porridge I bought at Huichun Tower, and the buns I made myself!”

Zhao Yelan was indeed hungry. He drank a few mouthfuls of porridge before picking up an unfortunate-looking steamed bun, and took a bite while Yan Mingting looked on eagerly.

“How is it? Did I succeed this time?” Yan Mingting widened his eyes and looked at him anxiously.

Zhao Yelan took two bites and asked: “What time is it?”

“Youshi.”^[1]

Zhao Yelan was slightly surprised, and looked outside in amazement. The sky was dark. He had really slept until this hour?

But after tossing around all night, he vaguely remembered hearing the crow of a rooster. As for Yan Mingting……

“When did you sleep?”

Yan Mingting’s face flushed slightly, remembering that he had failed to fall asleep several times last night while looking at that limp sleeping person. He still couldn’t hide his enthusiasm, and after a while, he fell asleep when the sky was slightly bright.

“You didn’t sleep all night, did you?” Zhao Yelan took a look at his face and ventured a guess. After some surprise, he felt sorry for himself.

How miserable, ah, he was not even let go when he fell asleep, damned smelly man!

“You…..don’t change the subject, I asked if it tastes good.” Yan Mingting pointed at the steamed bun.

“It’s unpalatable,” Zhao Yelan said truthfully.

Yan Mingting’s smile froze: “Then stop eating, I’ll go have the kitchen cook some of your favorite food, it will be ready soon!” After speaking, he ran out in a hurry.

After a while, Xiao Gao came in to help him clean up the room.

Xiao Gao blushed inexplicably. He snuck a few glances and turned his face away, not knowing what to say: “M-m-m-m-my Lord, would you like to change your clothes?”

“Let’s wait, ba.” Zhao Yelan was still eating the buns. He didn’t really want to get up, mainly because he was exhausted. Seeing his furtive looks, he asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Xiao Gao faltered: “Old Man Qin t-told me……My Lord, that you were in the bridal chamber with the General.”

Zhao Yelan was silent.

“Didn’t you guys already have a bridal chamber?” Xiao Gao didn’t understand. “Didn’t you have a bridal chamber wedding night when you got married?”

Zhao Yelan didn’t know how to explain it to him, so he simply didn’t.

“I heard you cry last night,” Xia Gao said pitifully.

Zhao Yelan gave a sudden pause and looked at him with embarrassment. Was this kid’s hearing so good? Or…..was his voice too loud?”

“I thought the General was bullying you. I was going to help you, but I was dragged away by Old Man Qin. He said that you were in the bridal chamber, and made me go far away…..” Xiao Gao twisted his fingers, his face flushed, and he asked in a whisper, “Is it the bridal chamber I’m thinking of? The kind to make a baby?”

“Yes.” Seeing him about to ask more, Zhao Yelan said, “It’s just that we can’t have children.”

“Ai, that’s a pity, ah.”

“It’s not a pity, I don’t want children.”

If he had wanted a child, he would have married a woman long ago. For him, a relationship without any burdens was most suitable.

One weakness was enough. He couldn’t have too many.

“That’s good.” Xiao Gao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again. “As long as you’re happy, My Lord.”

“En.” Zhao Yelan lowered his head and ate a mouthful of the stuffed steamed bun, and a smile appeared on his lips unconsciously.

Xiao Gao saw the bun and took two steps closer, saying with a smile: “The General has been making buns in the kitchen for most of the day.”

“Most of the day?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“That’s right, the General got up at noon and had a meal, then went to the kitchen. After putting the buns in the pot, he ran to the room to watch over you, and then went back to the kitchen to try them out. He kept running back and forth like this, but the buns failed four times.” After saying this, Xiao Gao laughed. “We were all in the kitchen watching him knead dough and stuffing. It was fun, the General is so nice!”

Yan Mingting carried in the food made by the cook, but found that Zhao Yelan had already finished eating the four buns. He said in surprise: “How did you eat so much? Weren’t they unappetizing?”

“I was just hungry,” Zhao Yelan said.

“Then what about these?”

“Eat it yourself, ba.”

“Okay.” Yan Mingting ate in the room, feeding him a couple of mouthfuls from time to time, as if he was afraid he might not be full after a few buns.

As night fell, the sweet-scented osmanthus in the courtyard had already bloomed. Zhao Yelan had been laying down all day, and wanted to exercise his muscles and bones.

Yan Mingting had learned this about him. In the past, if he was sick, he would always lie down and never sit.

He felt a little uncomfortable when he walked a few steps, but he got used to it. Yan Mingting held his hand tightly and walked with him.

Seeing their backs as the two of them leaned on each other, Housekeeper Qin couldn’t help but cry. It’s not easy, ah, it’s not easy!

“You didn’t go to court today?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“En, of course I took leave to stay with you in the mansion,” Yan Mingting said stridently. “Anway, there was nothing serious going on there. It’s boring to just listen to them quarreling all day long.”

“The Imperial Academy……”

“I had Xiao Gao ask for leave for you, the Imperial Academy is more idle than the Imperial court!”

Zhao Yelan smiled, then remembered another matter and said: “By the way, did you bring the gift for Kan Chuan’s child?”

“I gave it at court yesterday, don’t worry. He also said that he wants you to be the child’s godfather,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan: “En, he mentioned it to me before, but I didn’t agree at the time.”

“Why didn’t you agree?” Yan Mingting asked curiously. “I heard it’s a big fat fair-skinned girl, she should be very good.”

“Do you like children?” Zhao Yelan looked sideways at him.

“I like them, ah, children are the cutest,” Yan Mingting said with a sentimental tone. “They are the most carefree, their eyes are very pure, and people just like to see them.”

After walking for a while, he found that Zhao Yelan had been silent the whole time, so he asked: “Why are you thinking so seriously?”

“Do you want children?” Zhao Yelan suddenly stopped and looked up at him.

Yan Mingting was stunned for a moment, then touched his stomach and frowned: “You can’t give birth, can you?”

“……” Zhao Yelan said, “If you want children, you can find a woman to have a few.”

Yan Mingting looked at him, calm and unruffled: “What about you?”

“I will set fire to the General’s Mansion.”

It was fortunate that Housekeeper Qin wasn’t here, otherwise he would be so frightened that he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. But Yan Mingting laughed out loud: “You scared me to death, I thought you were going to wrong yourself and let me take a concubine openly.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

Yan Mingting smiled and squeezed his hand: “Don’t worry, ba. I like children when they are other people’s children, they don’t disturb me with noise. If I wanted to have children of my own, I would have already had a litter.”

Speaking of this, Zhao Yelan was also a little curious. Clearly, Yan Mingting had a good family background and good looks, so why did he never marry a wife and take concubines?

It couldn’t really be because of the evil star rumors. Yan Mingting himself certainly didn’t care, otherwise why would he come to mess around with him?

“You never thought of getting married before?”

“I used to focus solely on the war, and I didn’t expect to have a family at all. The military camp was full of big men, and there were so few girls, so where could I find someone I liked? There were actually two marriage contracts, but they were both dispensable at the time, and the most important thing was to win the battle.”

“What about concubines? Didn’t your parents prepare any for you?”

When the children of noble families came of age, many parents would prepare a few maids or concubines for them, and let them learn the art of intercourse.

“That was even less possible. My father never took a concubine in his life, so why would he make me take a concubine?” Yan Mingting said, “My father once told me, our heads are strapped to our belts.^[2] If we don’t keep them straight, our heads will disappear one day. So even if you want to get married, try to harm each other as little as possible.”

“Your father is right,” Zhao Yelan said.

“What ‘your father,’ how impolite,” Yan Mingting said with a straight face. “It’s ‘our father.’”

Zhao Yelan smiled slightly. Yan Mingting’s heart itched at the sight, and he lowered his head and kissed him.

Servants passed by from time to time. Zhao Yelan reached out to push him, but the other party was too strong. Not only did he not move at all, but he also found it fun, and insisted on kissing him unceasingly.

“Stop, stop, I suddenly have an idea,” Zhao Yelan said.

“What idea?”

“Let’s go and see Kan Chuan’s child.”

“Now?”

“It’s not too late, they’re probably not asleep yet,” Zhao Yelan said. “Since you want me to be a godfather, I have to take a look first. Not just anyone can fall into my eyes.”

“Then it seems I am really extraordinary!” Yan Mingting said happily.

“……” Careless.

“Then let’s go straight there?”

“No, let’s disguise ourselves. I can’t go to him openly.” Zhao Yelan’s eyes lit up and he whispered something in his ear. Yan Mingting was quite helpless.

“Looking at the child is a sham, I think you obviously want to play.”

People came and went on the street, but nobody noticed the two black shadows on the roofs, jumping to another place in an instant.

Yan Mingting led him, avoiding the eyes of the Imperial army as they flew all the way over the eaves and walls. Zhao Yelan was no longer as panicked as he was the first time, and was now able to find fun in it. Knowing that with Yan Mingting there it was impossible to be discovered, he still patrolled the surroundings like a thief.

Kan Chuan was teasing the child with his wife when he heard a knock on the door and asked: “Who is it?”

No one answered. He walked to the door vigilantly, and after opening it, he was taken aback by the two men in black before him. He was about to call out when the tall figure covered his mouth.

“Don’t call out, it’s us.” The person next to him tore off the black face scarf and smiled at him.

“Zhao-daren?” Kan Chuan looked at him in surprise, and then at the person covering his mouth.

“It’s me.” Yan Mingting retracted his hand and also pulled off his black cloth.

“Why are you dressed like this?” Kan Chuan couldn’t figure it out. They were a general and a fourth-rank official of the Imperial Academy, yet they were sneaking around like thieves in the middle of the night. What were they doing?

“Let’s go in and talk first, is it convenient?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“It’s convenient, come in quickly.” Kan Chuan welcomed them in. “Li-niang, Zhao-daren and the General are here, go and pour them a cup of tea.”

“Zhao-daren, why are you here?” Li-niang walked over, overjoyed at the turn of events, and was about to make tea when Zhao Yelan stopped her.

“Don’t bother, we’re just passing by to see your child, and we’ll be leaving soon.”

Just passing by? Daring to ask if you are the one who excitedly picked out these night clothes?

After Yan Mingting finished slandering him, he felt it was amusing and smiled.

Kan Chuan naturally didn’t believe that they were just passing by while wearing night clothes, but he prudently didn’t ask, and led them to the bed with a smile: “The baby was crying for a while, and we managed to get her to be quiet for now.”

The two approached the bed and took a look. The child was lying on a soft blanket, with a chubby face and two big, round eyes. She kicked the air with her hands and feet, as if she had a sense that strangers were coming, and looked at them calmly.

Amused, Yan Mingting stretched out his hand in front of her, wanting to see how big her face was, but she was frightened to tears.

Yan Mingting was startled and immediately withdrew his hand, looking at Kan Chuan and his wife in embarrassment.

The couple smiled and encouraged them: “It’s all right, she just loves to cry. If anyone gets close, she will cry for a while. We really can’t do anything about her.”

The child continued to cry, and the couple seemed to have no intention of stepping forward to help. Yan Mingting tugged on Zhao Yelan’s sleeve and asked for assistance: “You try?”

“How can I try?” Zhao Yelan muttered. Helpless, he could only pat the child’s stomach and say in a low voice, “No, don’t cry, don’t cry…..”

Seeing him bluntly coaxing her, the other three could only try to hold back their laughter.

Unexpectedly, the child’s cries actually grew quieter. Zhao Yelan looked back at them doubtfully.

Kan Chuan was astonished: “What is this? She doesn’t treat me like this.”

“Maybe your daughter likes good-looking people.” Yan Mingting said obnoxiously. “That’s right, she has the same discerning eyes as me.”

Kan Chuan: “……”

Zhao Yelan also felt that it was novel. He stared blankly at this little life he had never met before. At this time, his index finger was caught by a soft little claw. The baby suddenly grinned, and a moment later there was a giggle.

Kan Chuan was really jealous now.

Zhao Yelan’s gaze softened slightly. Seeing his appearance, Yan Mingting also started to get jealous.

After a while, Kan Chuan brought up the old matter again: “My lord, she seems to like you very much, why don’t you give me face and be her godfather?”

Zhao Yelan had originally just wanted to take a look, but didn’t expect it to be quite the match. He stood up and touched his body, but found that he had changed into night clothes and hadn’t brought anything else with him at all.

Yan Mingting took out a jade pendant and handed it to him. Zhao Yelan looked over in surprise, and Yan Mingting said: “I guessed you would recognize her as your goddaughter, and prepared everything for you. This was left behind by my mother, and is suitable for girls. In any case, the two of us don’t need it.”

“It’s too precious, we can’t take it,” Kan Chuan said. “I asked Zhao-daren to be the godfather not out of greed for your money. Besides, Zhao-daren has already given a gift.”

“The two things should be treated differently, that was a gift for you as a colleague. This is what Yan Mingting and I are giving to the child, not to you.” Zhao Yelan took the jade pendant and placed it on the child’s blanket. He couldn’t help pinching her face again, with a smile on his face.

In the end, it was Li-niang who took Kan Chuan’s hand and thanked him with a smile: “Many thanks, Zhao-daren. Then we will accept it, and hope she can grow up quickly.”

The two of them played with the child for a while before finally departing.

After returning to the General’s Mansion furtively, Zhao Yelan took off his night clothes and lay in bed, thinking about tonight’s events. He suddenly said with a smile: “You’re right. Children are indeed the most innocent. They will show kindness to everyone they see.”

“En.” Seeing that he was still reminiscing over meeting the child, Yan Mingting turned over and lowered his head to kiss him. “Actually, I am also very innocent, you can think about me if you have nothing to do.”

“You’re innocent?” Zhao Yelan asked angrily, “Will an innocent person backtalk me like this?”

Yan Mingting smiled and worked hard, tossing and turning like waves.

Zhao Yelan suddenly realized a problem. He had slept all during the day, and now he was tossed around like this and would definitely not be able to wake up tomorrow.

This was a vicious circle, ah, he still wanted to go to the Imperial Academy to copy books.

“Stop it,” Zhao Yelan said, out of breath.

Yan Mingting was taken aback: “Tingting? Okay, Tingting. Tingting……”

Zhao Yelan listened to him say he would stop for a long time, but the other didn’t intend to pause at all, and he couldn’t help but scratch up his back uncontrollably.

— Then why don’t you stop, ah!

---

[1] Youshi (酉时) = 5-7pm. ⮐

[2] To have one’s head strapped to their belt (脑袋掖在裤腰带上), is to do things at the risk of one’s death. ⮐

---

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

“Cut!” The director waved his hand. “Xia Xingchi……are you not in a good state today?”

Director Zhang was notoriously strict with the production crew, but when facing Xia Xingchi, his attitude could be called quite gentle – there was no one who wouldn’t like a high-efficiency entertainer who was full of a worker’s spirit. Not to mention that Xia Xingchi was the film crew’s financial backer and the biggest investor in the whole show.

He was said to be “not in a good state,” but did not repeat NG,^[1] and others couldn’t see the difference at all.

Only Zhang Dao’s precise and piercing eyes could detect that he seemed a little off today, as if he had something else on his mind.

Xia Xingchi apologized after hearing this: “I’m sorry, Director Zhang. I’ll find the right state again.”

“Did you not rest well?” Director Zhang didn’t make him continue. “How about you take it easy today, ba.”

Xia Xingchi had always been efficient, and the filming progress was ahead of schedule, so it was completely fine to postpone it today. Plus, the movie was being filmed in the capital, so now he could go home directly after getting off work.

Anyone with eyes knew that this young couple had been married for more than three years and was still so lovey-dovey. They could often see Li Chengyuan coming to pick up his lover to go home after work. 

When he wasn’t busy, Li Chengyuan would even sit with the sweating crew for the whole day, and Xia Xingchi couldn’t even drive him away. He was quite hardcore and down-to-earth about visiting.

“Xingchi, why haven’t we seen Mr. Li these days?” One person asked.

When Li Chengyuan came, he would usually either give the whole crew an unlimited buffet or reimburse them for a luxurious meal, but they hadn’t seen him for three consecutive days. Combined with Xia Xingchi’s absent state —

Did they have a fight?

As soon as the question was asked, everyone immediately pricked up their gossip ears. But in their hearts, they estimated that based on Boss Li’s tolerance and exclusive tenderness toward Xia Xingchi, it was nearly impossible for the two of them to quarrel and wage a cold war for three full days.

Unexpectedly, when Li Chengyuan was mentioned, Xia Xingchi’s expression froze in a rare way.

Then he just pretended as if nothing had happened: “He’s been busy with a new project recently……he left home on a business trip.”

After saying this, without waiting for anyone to say anything else, he ran away in a hurry along with the confused assistant who had just packed up his things.

Xia Xingchi opened the car door while looking at his phone, and was dialing the number to call the landline at home, when he looked up and saw the small blanket in the backseat which should have been empty.

There was something like a small animal in the middle of the blanket, trying to get out. But it was too small and the blanket was too heavy, so it wrapped itself up tighter and tighter as it struggled.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback at the sight: “This, how did he get here?”

He got into the car as he spoke, picked up the blanket with the unknown animal inside, and put it on his lap.

Secretary Ye, in the passenger seat, could only give a guilty smile upon hearing these words. She greeted Xia Xingchi timidly but didn’t answer his question, obviously not daring to say more.

For the time being, Xia Xingchi stopped embarrassing the hourly employee caught in the middle, and instead lowered his head to pull open the blanket.

A small, fluffy white tail was exposed from the soft, dark gray cashmere blanket. Seeing this, Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but reach out and flick his little butt.

This behavior seemed very normal. The average kitten would be teased and meow a few times at most, but this one in his family was not the same —

The little tail suddenly froze for a moment, and then, as if realizing what had happened just now, the whole tail stood up like an antenna and the soft white fur suddenly puffed up.

“Meow!” The little cat turned its fluffy head, widened its amber eyes, and let out a “tiger roar.” It was a pity that it was really too small. Not only did it have no deterrent effect, but it also had a milky little voice.

Xia Xingchi couldn’t help laughing wildly, and grasped its little paw, but was thrown off fiercely by it. Fortunately, it couldn’t bear to scratch him, and only pushed his fingers away hard.

Seeing that the little cat was really ignoring him, Xia Xingchi had no choice but to wrap it tightly in the blanket and make a gesture of surrender with both hands: “Okay, okay, I won’t bother you. If you have such a temper, you will be rubbed bald.”

The little cat licked its paw haughtily, ignoring Xia Xingchi.

“The temperature of the air conditioner should be higher,” Xia Xingchi instructed, and then turned to Secretary Ye, “Did he get his medicine and injections today? Didn’t I say that he shouldn’t go out?”

“Li……en, he didn’t take the medicine because it was too bitter,” Secretary Ye replied cautiously, sandwiched between a rock and a hard place, “……He wanted to come pick you up, and I dared not stop him.”

What she said was very vague, but fortunately, Xia Xingchi understood immediately. After all, there was an unsuspecting driver in the car, and Secretary Ye dared not go into too much detail. This matter was so bizarre and shocking that it had to be kept secret.

During this time, Xia Xingchi was carefully inspecting Li Chengyuan’s body. 

The results were indeed quite remarkable. He no longer caught a cold whenever the cold wind blew, and the last time he had a fever was two or three months ago.

Unexpectedly, in the afternoon the day before yesterday, Li Chengyuan suddenly developed a high fever for no reason. His body temperature suddenly soared to 40 degrees, but it didn’t affect him at all. He won the biggest transnational project in the second half of the year without changing his expression. He just seemed calm and measured.

It wasn’t until he was getting into the car that he staggered and almost fell down.

Secretary Ye, who was traveling with him, was taken aback, and quickly asked him whether he should go to the hospital right then or call a doctor to examine him.

Li Chengyuan frowned and leaned back in the car seat. He squeezed the center of his brows with one hand and asked hoarsely: “What time is it?”

He had made an appointment to pick up Xia Xingchi from the film crew at 6:30 pm.

Secretary Ye understood why her boss was asking, and promptly answered: “It’s half past four – but your complexion looks very bad, and the little boss will definitely notice.”

She took out a small mirror and handed it to Li Chengyuan attentively.

The face of the person in the mirror was bloodless, and the already cold, pale skin was whiter than paper. He had always been this way, never blushing with fever, and his chapped and bloodless lips directly cast light upon his terrible complexion.

Li Chengyuan: “…….”

That afternoon, Xia Xingchi was happy to be able to get off work on time. He had just removed his makeup and packed his things, and was leaving the set when he saw a message from his big cat: 

— I am temporarily busy at the company. Don’t wait for me to come home tonight, sleep well and don’t stay up late playing games.

He also posted a cartoon emoticon of reaching out to grasp the stars.^[2]

Xia Xingchi tilted his head. Li Chengyuan seldom went back on his promises. Such a meticulous person was good at arranging his work and life. There were very few unanticipated events or changes of plans.

However, Xia Xingchi didn’t think too much of it. He only supposed that the other party was very busy, and then happily got into the car he had been waiting a long time for and went home first.

Every mealtime, he routinely called to check up on Li Chengyuan and see if he was busy and forgot to eat.

The phone rang for a long time, but nobody answered.

Xia Xingchi was about to hang up and try to call Secretary Ye, when the phone finally picked up the next second.

“Baby?” Li Chengyuan’s voice was a little hoarse, but with the usual smile for Xia Xingchi. “You called?”

It hadn’t been a day or two since the two of them were so mushy. The married couple always stuck close to each other, and even Li Chengyuan’s perpetually indifferent personality had become a sugar factory for cp fans.

“Yes, this is a routine inspection,” Xia Xingchi joked. “Turn the camera on and let me see if you’re keeping a mistress in the office.”

This was, in fact, to see what Li Chengyuan had for food today and how much he ate.

Unexpectedly, this person rejected the almost habitual video call, saying he was busy, and pretended to hang up.

Of course Xia Xingchi had trust in him as a partner, but he was too familiar with this person’s character of acting strong and not showing weakness.

“Why are you so hoarse, are you —”

Before Xia Xingchi finished speaking, Li Chengyuan couldn’t hold back his cough.

“Cough, cough. I have something else to do, so I’ll hang up first.”

“Don’t!” There was already the sound of the phone being hung up, and no one answered the call again.

Xia Xingchi stood up immediately, already certain that this person was feeling unwell again.

He was about to put on his coat and go directly to the company to catch his big cat and bring him back. This person was really getting better and better, and didn’t even blink when he lied.

While walking out, he made another call to Secretary Ye. Li Chengyuan wouldn’t answer his call, but Secretary Ye dared not ignore it.

Sure enough, the phone rang twice, and Secretary Ye quickly picked up.

“What’s wrong with your boss? Is he sick? Go and ask him to answer the phone.”

Secretary Ye immediately received amnesty. She had been waiting for this sentence. After all, taking the initiative to make a phone call counted as tattling, but this was not the case when the “empress” came to ask.

“Okay, I’m going to ask Mr. Li to answer the phone!” Secretary Ye knocked on the door while making a small report, “Boss Li’s temperature has reached nearly forty degrees. The doctor suggested that he go to the hospital to find out the cause, but he only wanted a fever-reducing injection – ah!”

“What’s wrong?!” Xia Xingchi was startled by the scream, and his heart immediately leaped into his throat.

Li Chengyuan had already slid from the sofa onto the office floor. At this moment, his back was leaning against the edge of the sofa, and his bony fingers unconsciously clenched the fabric over his chest as he panted hard and fast.

The infusion bag was knocked down. The liquid was splashed all over the floor, and he had pulled the needle out himself.

Li Chengyuan was obviously unconscious at this time, but when Secretary Ye hurriedly reached out to help him, he regained his senses with difficulty and ordered: “……You hang up the phone first.”

On the other side of the phone, Xia Xingchi was naturally unwilling. He asked Secretary Ye to keep in touch and told her to call the doctor as he quickly picked up the car keys and left.

But what he never expected was that when he rushed to the company in a hurry, he would stare at the doctor who was locked outside the office.

“Why can’t you go in?” Xia Xingchi asked the doctor.

“I don’t know.” The doctor held the medicine box in one hand, scratching his head doubtfully with the other. “Mr. Li’s secretary said that something unexpected happened, and no one can go in now.”

Xia Xingchi was baffled: “What?”

Secretary Ye had always been gentle and timid, but to become Li Chengyuan’s most important secretary, she could take a stand at critical moments. Something big must have happened for her to make such an outrageous decision without authorization.

Xia Xingchi didn’t have time to think about it. He quickly opened the locked door with his fingerprint, and then pushed it open: “What’s going on, where is Li Chengyuan?”

As if seeing her saving grace, Secretary Ye immediately rushed to the sofa. Her movements were very cautious as she slowly picked up something wrapped in Li Chengyuan’s suit jacket and stuffed it into Xia Xingchi’s arms.

Xia Xingchi received it in confusion and asked where Li Chengyuan had gone, looking at the lump in his arms.

An unconscious white kitten was revealed with its head exposed. The pink pads on its paws were spread out, and Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but want to grab them.

Although he really wanted to know where Li Chengyuan had found such a kitten to keep in his office, he more urgently wanted to know where Li Chengyuan had gone and what had happened.

“What the hell happened, he —”

“This is, this is Mr. Li…..” Secretary Ye pointed to the little white cat cautiously and solemnly. Considering that it was not wearing clothes, she didn’t know whether to look at it or not, and finally lowered her head with haste and looked at the ground with deep feeling.

Xia Xingchi: ? ? ?

He thought carefully. Today was indeed not April Fool’s Day, and Li Chengyuan was also not a person who joked, regardless of the situation, so he wouldn’t team up with the secretary to deceive people for fun.

Xia Xingchi was at a loss for a few seconds, and finally came to a reliable conclusion:

It must be that he heard wrong, or that Secretary Ye made a mistake.

Just as he was about to ask again, he suddenly found a piece of string wrapped up in the suit jacket covering the white cat – this was the one he wove for Li Chengyuan, who wore it around his neck.

At that time, he had woven a collar for Summer, but a certain person drank vinegar over a cat and insisted that Xia Xingchi also weave a red string necklace for him.

This string, this jacket filled with a familiar light fragrance……

Xia Xingchi stared at the red string in a daze for a long moment, and finally realized what had happened.

“Oh, shit.” In the end, only such simple and concise words popped out. This time, he had to believe this horrifying and unimaginable thing.

“What the hell is going on, ah!”

Secretary Ye had no choice but to report Li Chengyuan’s situation today in detail.

Only then did Xia Xingchi realize that Li Chengyuan had hardly eaten anything at noon, and even dared to lie to him that he had finished eating. He probably felt uncomfortable at that time, and endured it without saying a word.

Regardless of his anger and doubts, the most important thing was Li Chengyuan’s body and condition. The kitten was obviously uncomfortable, closing its eyes and restlessly shrinking himself into a small ball.

The question was, should he go to a pet hospital or a human hospital when faced with a small white furball with a fever so high it burned his hands?

There were too many people in the Li Group headquarters. If people knew that their chairman had staged a disappearing act, there would definitely be headlines tomorrow.

Xia Xingchi thought about it, and had no choice but to take his family’s cat home first and then make plans.

“……I usually joke around that he’s like a cat, but who would have thought he’d actually turn into one? This really goes without saying,” Xia Xingchi murmured to himself.

The little furball in his arms moved as if sensing something, and then opened its eyes with difficulty, revealing his beautiful amber irises.

One person and one cat stared at each other for a moment. Li Chengyuan obviously didn’t realize what had happened and why he had to look up to see everything around him.

Xia Xingchi saw that the kitten was so weak that he couldn’t stand up after struggling for a long time. He immediately felt distressed, but pretended to be angry and asked, “Awake?”

The little milk cat immediately shrank its paws in subconsciously, and then pretended to be indifferent but looked out the car window with a guilty conscience. If this series of movements were seen by other people, they would definitely be frightened, because this was not at all an expression a cat should make.

If Xia Xingchi was skeptical of the great transformation just now, he would have to believe it at this moment. This behavior was exactly the same as Li Chengyuan’s.

When Li Chengyuan turned his head like this, he realized that something was wrong. According to his height, no matter what posture he was in, he should not be looking at the door handle.

“Meow……?”

When such a voice sounded, both of them were at a loss for a few seconds.

Needless to say, Li Chengyuan was shocked and bewildered. And Xia Xingchi did not expect that he would speak in such a soft voice, completely different from his usual image of a cold and oppressive boss.

It took a whole day for Li Chengyuan to finally accept this outrageous fact. Xia Xingchi was finally relieved after carefully asking experts and confirming that Li Chengyuan could still change back.

As for what was going on, doctors and experts kept it secret, not wanting this mysterious and bizarre thing to spread among the populace. But it was clear that this was not the first time they had come into contact with this phenomenon.

Xia Xingchi was not interested in learning the secrets of this mutation either. The fewer complications, the better. And Li Kitty was sick, so he wasn’t in the mood to wonder about such things.

His thoughts returned to the car outside the set.

Xia Xingchi lifted the cat with one hand, wrapped the blanket tightly around it, and instructed the driver to increase the temperature of the air conditioner.

The driver didn’t know why, just thinking that Young Master Xia really liked cats, and in order not to freeze a kitten, he would rather be too warm himself.

“Is it a little tomcat? It’s so beautiful,” said the driver. “What kind of breed is this? It must be very expensive.”

Secretary Ye in the passenger seat couldn’t hold back upon hearing these words. The driver was usually most fearful of the boss, and didn’t even dare to breathe in front of Li Chengyuan, trying at all times to pretend that he didn’t exist.

If he knew who the “cat” he was asking about was, he would be so frightened that he would throw out the steering wheel.

Xia Xingchi smiled when he heard these words: “It’s really expensive. I don’t think you can find such an expensive ‘cat’ in the whole world – it was Li Chengyuan who gave it to me.”

“Wow!” The driver didn’t understand the meaning of his words at all, and seeing how serious Xia Xingchi was, he believed it completely. Then he couldn’t help but look at this “supposedly very expensive” kitten in the rearview mirror.

After all, Li Chengyuan was very keen to take care of Xia Xingchi. Not to mention the most expensive cat, even if he wanted the stars in the sky, Li Chengyuan had to find a way to get them.

Xia Xingchi just smiled, and reached out to grasp the cat’s paw. The little cat immediately smacked his hand away with a cold, noble expression. He didn’t let him touch, and never compromised on being petted.

When one person and one cat arrived at home, Aunt Li happened to be setting out the hot meal while Summer crouched at the door with its big tail waving, waiting for its masters to come home.

At first, Xia Xingchi was worried that a cat as big as Summer would hurt Li Chengyuan, who had turned into a kitten. But after some observation, he found that it could still recognize its owner. It didn’t feel that a huge change had happened to Li Chengyuan at all, and still stuck to its master as usual, even continuing to roll around and act cute as it begged for pets.

Li Chengyuan used to be able to casually toss it away, but there was nothing he could do about being bothered by this behemoth now. The little milk cat showed a disgusted expression as it raised its paw to Summer’s head reluctantly. In the end, because he was so small, he had to jump onto a chair to touch it.

Xia Xingchi was amused by this strange interaction between the big and small ones.

“Sir won’t be coming back for dinner tonight?” Aunt Li asked worriedly.

Not only the crew gossiped about whether they were fighting, but even Aunt Li was a little worried about them. After all, Li Chengyuan never stayed out at night, let alone disappeared for several days.

Xia Xingchi placed the “cat” where Li Chengyuan usually sat and comforted Aunt Li: “He really is on a business trip……didn’t he leave the cat with me?”

Aunt Li obviously still didn’t believe it. Although everyone in the company believed that Mr. Li had gone on a business trip, it could be clearly seen in the villa that he didn’t bring any daily necessities or luggage along. After all, he couldn’t leave empty-handed, right?

What was even more strange was that Li Chengyuan and the kitten seemed to be carved out of the same mold. Not only did it not eat cat food and have the same tastes as him, but it also had the same physical weaknesses of cold chills and a glass stomach.

Xia Xingchi didn’t dare to linger any longer. After eating, he hastily picked up the dignified and indifferent-looking kitten, subconsciously rubbing its little paws as he left the dining room and went straight to the room upstairs.

Perhaps there were too few cases to be found in the academic world, because the experts had not given a definite answer to the question of how to restore his big cat. 

But the best known way so far was to awaken the body’s instincts through strong stimulation, such as……a near-death experience. It was important not to let Li Chengyuan know in advance, which would bring double psychological and physical stimulation.

God knows how shocked and unwilling Xia Xingchi was at the time when those scholars tactfully made neck-choking gestures.

Not to mention that the person before him was the person he loved the most and would never hurt no matter what, but even if this was an ordinary fragile kitten, his intrinsic morals would not let him do such a thing.

But the problem of Li Chengyuan’s delay in changing back was pressing.

The work that must be handled by him and the decisions that must be made were piling up, and he had to meet with the board of directors next week. If someone caught onto the clues, it would inevitably lead to a stormy wave of public opinion and a panicked drop in stock prices.

The more Xia Xingchi thought about it, the more he felt that it was really difficult to make a decision.

Turning to look at the kitten, he saw that it was staring at a pill with an irritable expression – the expression of not wanting to take medicine for fear of bitterness was still exactly the same.

“How about I coat it in some honey?” Xia Xingchi crouched down so that his eyes were parallel to the bed, then raised his hand and lightly poked the tip of that fluffy tail.

The little milk cat shook his head slightly and covered up his actual dislike and resistance with calmness. He picked up the pill in his paws and put it in his mouth casually…..then stuck out his little tongue and retched from the bitterness.

It was unknown if cats had such a sensitive sense of taste or if a person who was afraid of bitterness became more sensitive to it after becoming a cat. In any case, every time Li Chengyuan took medicine, he felt as if he was being tortured, and was unhappy for an hour before and after.

Xia Xingchi immediately brought a small dish of honey water before him and laughed at him. He couldn’t help but look down at his neck.

A certain person’s legs were too long, and he was so tall that Xia Xingchi had to stand on tiptoe if he wanted to kiss it, but now he was small, and his neck was so thin that it could be held and squeezed tightly with one hand.

Xia Xingchi pursed his lips, raised his hand, and slowly reached out.

Li Chengyuan was naturally defenseless towards his lover, and the tip of his tongue was focused on lapping the sweet honey water to dilute the bitter taste of the pill.

The second before his fingertips touched the kitten —

Xia Xingchi suddenly clenched his fists, tightened his fingers in the air, and then retracted them!

The big movement made it difficult for Li Chengyuan not to notice it. He paused and turned, tilting his fluffy head to look at Xia Xingchi suspiciously.

The two had been together for so long that with just one glance, he could tell what was on his loved one’s mind.

“Meow?” Someone who didn’t like to meow as a cat reluctantly made a single doubtful sound.

“Haha,” Xia Xingchi laughed dryly, “You, you take a good look, ah…..”

After speaking, he stood up suddenly, and under the disbelieving gaze of those light amber eyes, he suddenly took off his clothes!

Under the slippery-soft shirt was fair, smooth skin. The delicate collarbones and pink peach petals were clearly visible, and the graceful mermaid lines extended smoothly down —

Li Chengyuan stared blankly: ? ? !

This was still not enough. Xia Xingchi paused for half a second, and then lightly brushed his neck and Adam’s apple with his fingertips. This was something that his big cat liked to do when they were doing indescribable things, and at this moment, Xia Xingchi’s hand seemed to be doing it instead of him.

A charming and ambiguous atmosphere immediately spread. 

The movements of Xia Xingchi’s hands didn’t stop. It was just like when they were together, but this time it was him doing something on his own instead of Li Chengyuan.

Li Chengyuan was immediately stunned. He stared wide-eyed with amber-gold eyes and vertical pupils that only belonged to cats, and for a moment, he didn’t even know where to put the tip of his tail.

Xia Xingchi held back his blush and pretended to be nonchalant, saying: “I’m going to take a bath. You, you have to keep watching.”

He directly picked up the frozen white furball and carried it to the bathroom.

In order to let Li Chengyuan see more clearly, Xia Xingchi not only put him on a shelf with an excellent location and line of sight, but also slowly took off the rest of his clothes slowly, as if making an earnest exhibition.

Li Chengyuan was dazed the whole time, crouching dumbfounded on the shelf with big amber eyes open wide.

Amidst the dense steam, he finally saw Xia Xingchi’s moving hands clearly:

He actually wanted to perform “self-entertainment” in front of him, but didn’t think it was flowery enough, so he took something out and opened it.

It was waterproof and vibrated when pressed.

“Meowwwww —”

Li Chengyuan, who was originally unwilling to meow, promptly let one out instinctively. The tone also changed unknowingly, and it was obvious that some unspeakable thoughts had been evoked.

It was the first time Xia Xingchi had done this kind of thing in front of someone. Although his family’s big cat was small now, in his opinion, this was just like being in front of Li Chengyuan’s true self.

Li Chengyuan watched Xia Xingchi’s actions, shocked by the excitement of the scene, but was unaware of Xia Xingchi’s true intentions.

Disregarding his blush, Xia Xingchi wondered if this was enough. This forward behavior could be regarded as a strong stimulus, and was better than hurting his family’s big cat with a near-death experience.

The water rippled, the sound rising and falling in rhythm —

Finally, with a “plop,” the little furball slipped and fell directly off the shelf and into the water. He even forgot about the splashing water. His whole body was hot and stiff, and he couldn’t recover for a while.

Xia Xingchi was startled by the splash, and seeing that his kitten hadn’t emerged from the water for a long time, he quickly reached over to fish it out.

Its pure white fur seemed to blend in with the bottom of the bathtub. Xia Xingchi couldn’t see clearly in the water obscured by shower gel foam, and couldn’t touch it after feeling around for a long time.

Xia Xingchi immediately panicked, and stood up to fumble back and forth.

For a moment, he was terrified into a cold sweat, anxious and angry at himself for creating this situation. He should have at least put the fragile kitten in a more secure location.

Just as he was thinking, a cold hand suddenly gripped Xia Xingchi’s wrist in the warm water – then, before he could react, that hand exerted force and directly dragged him into the water and embraced him!

“Wu!” His lips were blocked by something, and the tip of Li Chengyuan’s tongue drove straight in.

It was said that not seeing each other every day felt like three autumns had passed. For Xia Xingchi, although petting cats was quite nice, he hadn’t seen Li Chengyuan himself for many days.

After the intense and lingering kiss ended, Xia Xingchi finally came back to his senses. He excitedly hugged Li Chengyuan’s shoulders and threw himself into his arms: “Great! You finally changed back! You…..”

He hadn’t finished talking when he was embraced by Li Chengyuan again, their skin pressing together as they felt each other’s warmth.

This action had a tacit understanding between the two, and was a prelude to doing something else.

“Wait,” Xia Xingchi reached out to push him. “Don’t do it, let me take a good look at you – ah!”

The tone of his last word was trembling, and suddenly shot up. Slightly cool, slender fingers touched his sensitive area, and even poked hard with evil intentions.

The two of them were naked, and most of the previous atmosphere was still there. As soon as Xia Xingchi was teased, he couldn’t help but immediately compromise.

Li Chengyuan, on the other hand, was not in a hurry. Not only did he not make the next move, but he also bent down in the water and felt around casually — when he fished something out, he pressed it lightly and there was a vibrating sound.

Xia Xingchi: “……..”

He should have strangled him.

“That, ah, don’t look at me like that!” Xia Xinchi blushed at once upon remembering what he had done just now. “I couldn’t help it, ah! This, this was just to make you change back soon…..”

Li Chengyuan naturally knew.

He could feel the changes in his own body from the moment he was stimulated by the beauty in the room, his energy and blood surging.

As the boiling sensation reached its peak, and under the double stimulation of accidental drowning, he directly recovered his human form.

But he decided to pretend not to hear Xia Xingchi’s explanation, and just said in a low voice: “It seems you think I’m not as good as this thing?”

Before Xia Xingchi could speak, Li Chengyuan turned over and held him down. The positions and postures of the two changed suddenly, and Xia Xingchi was pressed down into the water and loomed over.

It was not the first time the oversized tub had experienced this, and there was even a matching surf mode to complement it and create waves.

But it was indeed the first time they took the two-pronged approach to playing in the flower field, which was not only exciting to the kitten, but also made a considerable impact on Xia Xingchi.

The water surged and splashed out, accidentally wetting the bathroom floor, and the shimmering water reflected the beautiful scenery of a spring garden full of color.

. . . . . .

Summer, who was crouching outside the door, was no stranger to such things. After listening for a while, it picked up a small dried fish and ran away.

T/N: I don’t usually enjoy this sort of extra, but I got a kick out of the idea that in this world, there is a secret society of experts on people randomly turning into animals.

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[1] NG = to make a mistake and have to retake the scene. ⮐

[2] The characters that make up Xia Xingchi’s given name are 星池, which translates to “star pool.” ⮐

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