Two days later, Zhao Yelan finally recovered. There was no one else in the room. He put on his clothes and had just walked out the door when he heard Yan Mingting say to Zuo Ran: “Take the prescription from the doctor and boil two pots. Make it available to everyone.”

“Okay.” Zuo Ran raised her head and called, “Zhao-daren, why are you up?”

Yan Mingting turned around with a wave of his hand, and Zuo Ran hurried off to get to work. He walked to the door and asked in a soft voice: “How do you feel, is there any discomfort?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head and asked: “What kind of medicine are you brewing? Is anyone else sick?”

“It’s just medicine to reduce the heat. They’re running around outside every day, so it’s just in case,” Yan Mingting said.

“I was negligent.” Zhao Yelan had simply thought that these soldiers were well-trained and physically strong, so he just let them go to work.

“Your biggest oversight is yourself.” Yan Mingting helped him sit down, and then asked the doctor to make a diagnosis. After confirming that there was no major problem, he was relieved.

Zhao Yelan asked about the current progress, and Yan Mingting replied: “Rest assured, ba, the refugees from Zhizhou have been evacuated according to your previous method. If there is no accident, they should now be almost to the disaster relief point, and then they will be able to go on to other lands smoothly.”

Zhao Yelan pondered: “Where are the people from the city? Have they all been evacuated too?”

“Some people don’t want to leave and have been temporarily placed in charity houses.”

“How long can the water source that Yin Pinglu found last?”

“I’m not sure. It’s only that the water is getting less and less, and many people are going to fetch water every day.”

“Let the residents who don’t want to leave fetch water themselves, otherwise they will wait at home for someone to come to their door,” Zhao Yelan said. “Ask your people to pick up water and send it to the disaster relief point to minimize casualties during the journey.”

“All right.”

At noon, everyone ate pancakes and white rice porridge. Magistrate Sun said that some people in the city were already preparing to leave for other places, because if they went to fetch water by themselves, the round-trip distance was not short. It was better to leave with the others, so that at least there were people from the government who could guarantee them a sip of water.

“Zhao-daren, there is nothing else to do here, you fellows should evacuate quickly,” Magistrate Sun said.

“You aren’t going?”

“There are still some people in the city who are unwilling to leave, and I cannot abandon them,” Magistrate Sun said. “Many thanks to everyone who came to help these days, otherwise I would not have been able to properly handle so many refugees with such ease. Especially Zhao-daren, who fell ill. It is a blessing for the people to have a good official like you, ah.”

“There’s no need for that, I’m just doing my best.” Zhao Yelan thought he wasn’t as good as all that. He had just happened to encounter a disastrous situation and couldn’t bear to see so many lives disappear before his eyes, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten involved.

Moreover, compared to him, Magistrate Sun was the real local official, and at this juncture he was still unwilling to give up the remaining people and wanted to live or die with them.

Zhao Yelan admired his perseverance, but he also knew that a gentleman did not stand under a dangerous wall, and after minimizing the damage, he should leave with his own people.

“We will take the official route. Come to us if you need anything.” After Zhao Yelan ate half of his sesame seed-coated cakes, he picked up the porridge and drank most of the bowl in one go.

At this time, Yan Mingting silently moved his porridge in front of him.

Zhao Yelan: “Drink it yourself.”

“I can drink wine later,” Yan Mingting insisted.

Zhao Yelan had no choice but to drink another bowl. However, when everyone went back to pack their luggage, he saw Zuo Ran staring straight ahead while holding an empty jar. There was not a drop of wine dripping from it.

“Can’t you change the jar?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“No, we ran out of wine yesterday.” Zuo Ran sighed. “Magistrate Yin took out everything he had in stock at home, but there are too many soldiers and not enough for everyone to drink.”

Zhao Yelan was taken aback: “Not even a single jar?”

“En.”

Zhao Yelan walked into the room. Yan Mingting looked back at him while packing his bags: “Drink the medicine first, ba. There’s some more for the road, so as not to suffer from heatstroke again.”

Taking a few glances at him, Zhao Yelan drank the medicine in one go and grimaced.

“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?” Yan Mingting asked, stepping forward.

“It’s a little bitter.”

“It is? You never said it was bitter before, ah.”

Zhao Yelan stared at his chapped lips and raised his head to kiss them. He licked them thoroughly, and asked after his lips were moist: “Is it bitter or not?”

“Where is it bitter?” Yan Mingting smiled. “It’s obviously sweeter than tanghulu.”

For the convenience of travel, no carriage was used this time, and everyone rode lightly on horseback. After bidding farewell to Magistrate Sun, everyone began to move directly north.

Zhao Yelan originally wanted to ride a horse by himself, but Yan Mingting was worried, fearing that he couldn’t bear it alone, so he insisted on dragging him onto his horse.

After more than half an hour, Yan Mingting stopped abruptly and took off his outer layer. The others couldn’t bear the heat either, so they followed his lead and took off their outer layers. For the sake of the two women, they did not go shirtless.

Seeing this, Yin Pinglu whispered a few words to Zuo Ran, who nodded and turned around to say: “General, the two of us are going to the front to take the lead. You just follow behind.”

After speaking, they hurried to the front of the crowd. Everyone saw and didn’t wait any longer, taking off their tops to go shirtless.

Zhao Yelan looked around at all those muscular arms and inevitably became a little jealous.

“Does it look good?” Yan Mingting asked cooly behind him.

“It’s really good-looking,” Zhao Yelan said sincerely.

“…….”

Yan Mingting was angry, but couldn’t ask everyone to put on their clothes when it was hot to the point of death, so he could only remove his inner layer irritably.

Zhao Yelan glanced back, then faced forward as if nothing had happened, a suspicious blush appearing at the base of his ears.

In the evening, everyone enjoyed the shade at the base of a mountain and ate dry rations.

Zhao Yelan found a secluded place and stood under the shade of a tree, eating sesame seed cakes. After a while, Yan Mingting came over and handed him a water bag: “Drink some water first.”

Zhao Yelan grabbed it and took a sip, then turned his back to continue eating without looking at him.

Yan Mingting was puzzled, and was about to speak, but he heard someone calling him and had no choice but to go over there first to see the situation.

Hearing the sound of his footsteps fading away, Zhao Yelan turned his head, and his eyes fell on the other’s back. The muscles of his arms and waist contained a wild strength without losing any aesthetic beauty. The shoulders were wide, the waist narrow, and the legs long. He had a good figure.

He had also seen Yan Mingting soaking in the bathtub, but at that time he was only concerned with checking whether he was injured, and did not have so  many colorful thoughts. But seeing him stand out amongst a group of shirtless men, he couldn’t help feeling a little proud.

Look, among so many tall and mighty men, only the best-looking one was worthy of him.

“My lord, what are you looking at?” Zuo Ran suddenly appeared beside him, following his line of sight. “Are you looking at the General?”

Zhao Yelan was taken aback, and sent her a sharp look: “Are you always so silent when you walk?”

“I am, ah, it’s just that you were too focused,” Zuo Ran said innocently.

“……” Zhao Yelan didn’t want to continue this topic, and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Getting another sesame seed cake.” Zuo Ran smiled and ran to Yan Mingting’s side. Whatever she said made Yan Mingting suddenly look over with a smile.

Zhao Yelan quickly looked up at the sky, still holding half a piece of sesame seed cake in his hand.

Zuo Ran got the cake and ran a few steps forward to find Yin Pinglu.

After Yan Mingting finished talking with the others, he returned to Zhao Yelan and asked with a smile: “What were you looking at just now?”

“I wasn’t looking at anything.” Zhao Yelan took a few steps backward and leaned his back against the tree, then stopped and bowed his head to eat the cake.

Yan Mingting took two steps forward, tilted his head to observe his expression, and suddenly laughed: “Did you peek at me?”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” Zhao Yelan glared at him.

“If you want to see it, just look at it directly instead of being sneaky.” Yan Mingting raised his arms and deliberately demonstrated the power of a man.

Zhao Yelan: “……Be careful of mosquitos biting you to death.”

“Impossible.”

Not long after, Yan Mingting said with a mournful face: “Oh no, look at my back, have I been bitten?”

“That’s right.”

There was a big puffy bite on his back.

Zhao Yelan found some mosquito repellant in the forest and rubbed it on his back for a while, then asked: “Does it still itch?”

How could it not itch? His heart itched badly.

“I’ll do it myself, ba.” Yan Mingting gave a long sigh and looked at him sadly, pointing out, “It’s still so hot today, it’s easy to get too excited.”

Zhao Yelan choked, and stuffed the last bite of sesame seed cake that he couldn’t finish into the other’s mouth.

Yan Mingting was very moved and said in his heart, he left the last bite for me, he loves me so much.

They continued to move forward in the evening, but their speed had dropped and the horses walked forward slowly. Zhao Yelan gazed up at the night sky. It was full of stars, very beautiful, but he couldn’t be happy.

“Looks like tomorrow will be sunny,” Zhao Yelan sighed.

“Don’t worry too much,” Yan Mingting said. “Sometimes the sky isn’t accurate, what if it rains?”

Zhao Yelan reluctantly gave a faint smile: “I hope so, ba.”

Seeing that he was not in high spirits, Yan Mingting said: “Everything has its pros and cons. Although tomorrow will be sunny, that does not hinder the beauty of the night sky now, ah. It is rare to see so many stars in the capital, so seize the opportunity to see more of them.”

Zhao Yelan gave a light laugh, but then seriously looked at the stars. Some were big, some were small, some sparkled and shined, and some connected to form patterns. Zhao used the stars to form pictures, pointing dozens of them out to Yan Mingting. He asked: “What do you think that one looks like?”

“I don’t know.” Yan Mingting’s gaze kept falling on his profile, and the corners of his lips curled up unconsciously. “What is it?”

“It’s Hongshao.” Zhao Yelan laughed out loud, echoed by Yan Mingting.

The others didn’t know what had happened, hearing inexplicable laughter on the road.

The night was getting dark, and Zhao Yelan’s eyelids were a bit heavy. Yan Mingting pulled him back to lean into his arms and said: “Take a nap, ba.”

Zhao Yelan nodded and leaned against his chest to prepare for sleep, but not long after he closed his eyes, he felt something pressing against his back.

He opened his eyes abruptly with a reddening face, and said without looking back: “Calm down.”

“Hm?” Yan Mingting lowered his head slightly, moved close to his cheek, and asked, “What did you say?”

“I said, you had better calm down a little,” Zhao Yelan said in a low voice.

“What’s wrong with me?” Yan Mingting was puzzled.

“What’s wrong with you? We’re on the road now.”

“Yes, we’re on the road……so what?”

Seeing that he had made it clear that he would pretend to be innocent, Zhao Yelan didn’t want to argue with him any longer. He closed his eyes again, but couldn’t get to sleep at all. The horse bumped up and down as he lay against the other’s chest, and his ears were filled with the sound of the other’s heavy breathing as his face turned redder and redder.

What’s more, his back was being poked uncomfortably the whole time, and it was difficult to ignore.

“Go to the front, I have something to say to you,” Zhao Yelan said.

Yan Mingting didn’t know his reasoning, but he hurried to the front at full speed, and then they walked into a remote grove nearby.

“What’s the matter?” As soon as Yan Mingting spoke, the other turned around and reached out to touch his body.

Yan Mingting was taken aback: “ ? ” He wanted to be so wild?

Zhao Yelan’s expression was more complicated. He was sullen at first, then gradually lost, lowering his head unsurely to look. Then he noticed the saber at his waist, and reached out to touch the tip of the scabbard.

Hell. He had been careless.

The expression on Zhao Yelan’s face was about to crack, especially when he realized that he had directly grabbed it after his casually irritated words just now.

“That is……I seem to have made a mistake just now, in fact, the thing is this…..” He wanted to continue to explain, but was taken captive by Yan Mingting into the depths of the forest.

“I’ve never seen you so proactive in stirring up a fire, and also on the road! Hurry and take responsibility for me!” Yan Mingting said.

---

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

T/N: Thanks so much to Juice for the Kofi donation! I really appreciate it!

Xia Xingchi wanted to help Li Chengyuan lie down on his back, but his hands were already shaking as if they weren’t his own, and the simple movement of trying to release the person in his arms was frozen for a long time without success.

Li Xiu, who was standing stupidly on the sidelines, finally came back to his senses and let out an exclamation before hurrying forward to help:

“Xingchi, don’t worry, I’ll help you — do you want to help President Li to the bed?”

Xia Xingchi shook his head.

He had some experience dealing with attacks of acute illness in the past, and had also studied carefully on behalf of Li Chengyuan before, so he couldn’t be moved rashly in this situation, and could only be laid on the ground first.

The speed of the air emergency helicopter was much faster than that of an ordinary ambulance. The emergency center had told him not to panic just now. It would take twenty minutes for the helicopter to arrive.

Xia Xingchi held Li Chengyuan’s cold hand and kept testing his pulse. He had never experienced such a long twenty minutes.

“Xingchi, did you forget to give President Li his medicine?”

Li Xiu only thought that Xia Xingchi hadn’t remembered it in his panic, so he reached out to grab the medicine bottle that had fallen to the ground.

“No, don’t give him the drugs, he’s not –”

Xia Xingchi paused in the middle of speaking, and his heart began to waver.

Everything was based on unfounded speculation, and even the idea that “Li Chengyuan was murdered” was just an inference. The original book clearly stated that the boss suffered a sudden illness.

Not to mention making new assumptions based on other unfounded assumptions. Was the sentence Li Chengyuan wanted to say before really “Not a heart attack?”

Everything in front of him were typical heart attack symptoms. Maybe no one had poisoned him at all. He’d made all the food Li Chengyuan ate with his own hands, and everyone who ate the polenta was fine.

But he delayed the treatment time and the medication was not given to him immediately.

[What’s going on, what’s going on ! ! ! What actually happened?]

[Don’t scare me, ah, tell me it’s all fake! Why did boss Li suddenly cough up blood, ah]

[God, is this a heart attack? How could it be so serious all of a sudden!]

[Xia Xingchi, what are you hesitating for?! Why not give him the medicine, ah! He’s having a heart attack, if you refuse to save him, you’re a murderer!]

[What’s wrong with you, Xingchi baby? Are you scared silly? It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t be afraid, give Mr. Li some medicine]

[I knew the mistress was the most vicious, do you believe me now? Slap in the face? Slap in the face? He wants to kill Li Chengyuan]

[Fuck your mother, upstairs, shut up! Why are you still quarreling and arguing at this time, are you crazy!]

No one cared about the cameras on the sidelines, and the live broadcast silently continued.

Xia Xingchi had always had a decisive and free-spirited personality. He never hesitated or had regrets when making a choice, and had never encountered a decision that made him hesitate to the point that his teeth chattered.

“No!” He finally made the difficult decision. “Li Chengyuan can’t take this medicine……taking it will make his condition worse.”

Before he finished speaking, the door was pushed open and Xia Yu rushed inside in a hurry, genuine worry and panic written all over his face as he said: “How is Mr. Li?!!”

It was better not to ask. Xia Xingchi was furious when he heard this.

Looking at Li Chengyuan’s incredibly pale face and the blood at the corners of his lips, for a moment, he wanted to rush up and kill Xia Yu, and ask him what kind of poison he had used.

But it was useless to act on emotion. Xia Yu couldn’t possibly admit it. Xia Xingchi tightly gripped Li Chengyuan’s cold hand, suppressing his anger so as not to let himself create a disturbance.

But he heard Xia Yu anxiously accuse: “Has Mr. Li taken any medicine? Xingchi-ge, why are you just standing there, Mr. Li will die like this!”

The word “die” reverberated in Xia Xingchi’s mind like an explosion of thunder, but it also instantly woke him up.

Seeing that he was unmoved, Xia Yu at once became distressed and reached out to pull his arm as if he was anxious to grab the medicine, but Xia Xinghi pushed him away violently.

Xia Xingchi stared at him coldly, not allowing him to touch Li Chengyuan.

The camera was still silently filming. Xia Yu glanced at the camera mutely from the corner of his eye, and then shed tears on the spot.

He begged anxiously: “Xingchi-ge, please don’t be angry, please don’t treat Mr. Li like this. Give him the medicine, okay? He’ll die!”

If Xia Xingchi was still hesitating about his choice before, then this moment strengthened his confidence in his decision.

It was impossible for Xia Yu to be so earnest and kind. Even if there was no evidence that he was the murderer, no one else in this world wished for Li Chengyuan’s death more than he and Li Shengrui.

Seeing Xia Xingchi’s attitude, the barrage immediately ushered in a new wave of frying pans:

[What exactly is going on? I’m really going crazy, this is a life-saving medicine. Xia Xingchi, why won’t you move!]

[Regardless of the relationship between Mr. Li and the three of them, whoever they are, can they save Mr. Li first?]

[Xia Xingchi, are you insane? Have you forgotten how kindly Mr. Li treats you? Why are you killing him now, ah!]

[This is murder. If Mr. Li dies, Xia Xingchi, you can sit in prison]

[Did he forget that there are still cameras here, and his crimes are being broadcasted live? This is crazy, I want to call the police!]

. . . . . .

Xia Xingchi no longer cared about everyone’s commentary, or even what Xia Yu wanted to do.

At this time, Li Chengyuan’s eyes seemed to have opened a little, and his dim and empty gaze was looking up at something –

Even though his life was hanging by a thread, his eyes still instinctively stared at Xia Xingchi for a long time, as though he wanted to hold his hand.

Xia Xingchi thought that Li Chengyuan waking up was a sign of improvement, but before he could feel happy, the other suddenly grimaced in pain and coughed hard.

Xia Xingchi hastily moved to raise his head slightly to prevent him from choking, but saw that he could not keep his body from coughing and trembling, bright red blood continuously flowing from the corners of his lips.

In the end, several large mouthfuls of blood were spewed out in a row, and he lost consciousness again.

The scene was quite frightening, but what made Xia Xingchi even more terrified was that he suddenly realized, Li Chengyuan’s chest didn’t seem to be moving at all?!

He quickly reached out to touch Li Chengyuan’s chest, but could no longer feel his chaotic heartbeat. The weak pulse and breathing had all disappeared —

It was cardiac arrest!

“Li Chengyuan!”

Xia Xingchi immediately panicked, feeling his shaking voice almost break.

Although Li Xiu at the side was at a loss about Xia Xingchi and Xia Yu’s dispute over the medicine and didn’t know which side to take, seeing Xia Xingchi struggling to get up, he reached over to help him.

Xia Xingchi couldn’t care about his legs that were numb from kneeling and sitting, and with Li Xiu’s strength, he quickly moved around to Li Chengyuan’s side and said anxiously:

“He’s in cardiac arrest! I have to give him CPR – Li Xiu, help me find some scissors to cut his clothes!”

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was something that Xia Xingchi had learned to perform when he was working. Xia Xingchi never thought that the first time he would use it in his life would be on Li Chengyuan, the most important person to him.

Xia Yu stopped and didn’t continue to try to grab the medicine, just sitting to the side in tears as if he was frightened.

The moment he heard that Li Chengyuan’s heart and breathing had stopped, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew that Li Shengrui must be watching everything through the camera at this time, witnessing Li Chengyuan’s death with his own eyes.

The monstrous power of hundreds of billions of assets was about to fall into Li Shengrui’s hands.

And everything Xia Xingchi had in this moment that made people feel resentful and envious would be taken and returned to its “rightful owner.” In the future, Xia Yu would definitely shine a hundred times brighter than him.

At this thought, Xia Yu almost couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and every drop of his crocodile tears was full of gloating. Xia Xingchi’s desperate CPR was like the most useless dying struggle.

One minute, two minutes……

Xia Xingchi’s palm touched Li Chengyuan’s icy skin, and his heart was full of self-doubt and despair that the ending could not be changed.

But even though his arms were so tired that he could barely lift them, he still gritted his teeth and refused to give up, repeating the alternation of compressions and artificial respiration.

The crescent-shaped scar on his wrist was particularly conspicuous during these movements, and the moment his eyes fell upon it, tears started to fall –

Li Chengyuan, you can’t fucking die, you haven’t explained why you bit me……

Just as he was wiping his tears and lowering his head to do artificial respiration again, Li Chengyuan’s chest suddenly heaved several times, followed by a burst of labored coughing!

When Li Chengyuan opened his eyes slightly, he happened to meet those of Xia Xingchi, who was bending over.

Xia Xingchi stood there dumbfounded, looking at him in disbelief, and didn’t even notice that his tears were falling on the other’s face.

His lips moved, and his voice was low and almost inaudible: “It’s okay, don’t be afraid……”

Xia Xingchi’s tears suddenly rolled down wildly as if the floodgates had opened, and what was originally artificial respiration turned into a passionate kiss that fell hard on Li Chengyuan’s lips!

“Li Chengyuan, please hold on.” Xia Xingchi clenched his cold fingers tightly.

Because he didn’t dare to speak loudly for fear of stimulating his heart, he could only whisper in his ear: “As long as you survive, I will work for you for a lifetime free of charge, okay? Please hold on.”

Li Chengyuan only regained consciousness for a moment before slipping into darkness again. When he heard this sentence, he was unable to respond.

In the chaos of his lucidity, he answered silently: “Little liar, you spoke about forever and deceived me……this is nothing more than relying on the fact that every time you say it, I will believe you again unconditionally.”

Seeing that he had lost consciousness again, Xia Xingchi quickly reached out to check if his heart was beating. Fortunately, although it was weak, it was indeed beating.

Xia Yu was at first incredulous upon seeing this, and then his eyes suddenly grew dark.

He never thought that Li Chengyuan would cling to life so doggedly. He had thought that he would die on the spot, and he did die.

But Xia Xingchi, that bastard, could provide such professional CPR and actually save him?!

— Li Chengyuan must not survive! He had to die!

— Otherwise, not only would Li Shengrui not get the inheritance, but he would be driven to his death by this lunatic.

Han Yuanhe jogged into the room, followed by the medical staff in white.

Just now he had been standing by the place the helicopter would take off and land, waiting for the arrival of the emergency crew, and then brought them directly here without wasting time.

The moment the doctor finally arrived, the century-long twenty-minute torture finally came to an end.

Xia Xingchi quickly stood up as if he had seen one last straw to clutch at, but his legs were numb and he almost knelt down heavily on the spot.

Han Yuanhe, who was walking quickly at the front, quickly supported him: “Xingchi, don’t worry. President Li will be fine.”

Xia Xingchi pursed his lips and nodded. The doctor had Li Chengyuan carried onto the stretcher and ordered them to send him away first. He was pressed for time and asked very quickly: “Will any of you come to escort the patient?”

He knew that they were making a reality show and there would naturally be no family members of the patient present, so he could only quickly choose someone who was relatively close to accompany them.

The accompanying person should undoubtedly be Xia Xingchi, but before he could stand upright on his numb legs, Xia Yu suddenly said:

“I want to accompany Mr. Li!”

Before anyone could respond to this, he immediately revealed his real intentions and pointed at Xia Xingchi, saying: “He deliberately refused to give Mr. Li the medicine just now, he wanted to kill him!”

[A pure passerby, agreeing with Xia Yu this time]

[Bullshit! If he wanted to harm him, he wouldn’t have given him CPR just now. Li Chengyuan would have been dead before the doctor arrived]

[Even if Xia Xingchi is a favored mistress, no matter how much he is favored, he must have his real fiance at a time like this ah. Xiao Yu, his real fiance, must be the one]

[There’s something wrong with you ba! Boss Li is about to die, are you still fighting to write his name on his tombstone?]

Xia Yu said again: “I am most familiar with his physical condition and illness. Our two families are friends who have a marriage contract!”

“You can no longer let people of unknown origin approach Li Chengyuan, and you can’t give Xia Xingchi a chance to attack! He’s a murderer!”

The doctor who had asked the question just now had never encountered such a situation, so he couldn’t help hesitating.

Leaving aside gossip that could not be taken into account, then the relationship between the two people and the patient was the same.

But as soon as Xia Yu said “marriage contract,” he personally recognized Li Chengyuan as his fiance in public.

The doctor immediately angled toward Xia Yu and said anxiously: “So you are the patient’s family member? Then go, hurry and get on the helicopter, don’t dawdle!”

— Xia Yu was delaying the treatment time.

What’s more, this behavior of lying and tearing off his mask in front of the camera was almost self-destructive, which was not in line with his usual ways.

The only reason he did it was because there were more important things than stardom and fame.

Such as inheritance and a follow-up strike.

Xia Xingchi’s anger, which had long been suppressed, finally erupted at this moment!

Even facing the cameras, he no longer cared. Before Xia Yu’s triumphant smile could appear, Xia Xingchi had already stepped forward and grabbed Xia Yu’s collar with one hand, and punched him down on the spot with the other!

The move was so unexpected that Xia Yu’s nose was bleeding and his ears were buzzing.

He was terrified, and never imagined that he had still underestimated the meek, useless bastard of the past who had become like this.

Without delay, Xia Xingchi pushed Xia Yu to the ground, and at the same time tore off the engagement ring he was wearing next to his neck and admitted on the spot:

“I’m a family member! Li Chengyuan is my fiance……my lover!”

T/N: Yes, it really took THAT much drama for him to admit it. Also, “I will work for you for a lifetime free of charge.” Most romantic line ever delivered by a little money-grubber.

---

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

The sun had not yet risen in the early morning, but the temperature already showed an upward trend.

The carriage jolted again and Zhao Yelan yawned. Before opening his eyes, he heard Yan Mingting say in his ear: “Go back to sleep, ba.”

Hearing this, Zhao Yelan changed to a more comfortable position. Wrapping his arms around his neck, he placed his head on his shoulder. He was about to fall asleep when he suddenly froze for a moment, opening his eyes to stare at Yan Mingting. Then he lowered his head to take a look.

Yan Mingting’s face abruptly turned red, and he smiled in embarrassment: “Not sleeping anymore?”

“How can I sleep?” Zhao Yelan got off his lap and sat aside. After a moment, he turned his head to the side again, looking down at the bulge in his clothes.

“…….” Yan Mingting silently tried to cover it with his clothes, but it was useless, and instead of shrinking back, he became more energetic.

He couldn’t be blamed for this, ah.

He was at a young age, the weather was so hot, and there was a beautiful person on top of him all night. It was not easy for him to obey the rules, not to mention that Zhao Yelan was staring at him now. To shrink back, he would have to be a ghost.

“Looking, looking, you’re still looking.” Yan Mingting cast him a reproachful look. “It’s your fault for starting the fire. You’ll torture others when you’re drunk and then act as if nothing happened to you.”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyebrows upon hearing these words: “You’re blaming me?”

Yan Mingting gave a light snort and turned his head to stop looking at him and calm himself down. Otherwise, how could he go out to meet people like this?

Suddenly, a shadow fell in front of him, and Zhao Yelan sat on his lap again, reaching out a hand: “It seems that I have to teach you a lesson.”

His hand was a little cold, and when he held it, the scalding temperature finally received a little comfort. Yan Mingting’s breath stopped, and he looked at him incredulously. He noticed that the other party was also momentarily stunned, and asked: “What is it?”

As expected, the General was really well-endowed.

Zhao Yelan only had this thought in his mind, and soon after taught him a lesson with somewhat rusty skills.

In fact, Zhao Yelan seldom did this by himself, especially in recent years. The initial novelty had passed, his mind as calm as still water, and he was unable to arouse any interest. However, watching Yan Mingting’s expression at this time, his face was full of emotion, but he had to restrain his desire and his voice so as not to be heard. This sense of control made him very happy.

Yan Mingting raised his head with his eyes half shut and glimpsed his triumphant smile, then pressed his head down to kiss him.

After a long time, Zhao Yelan pushed him away and rubbed his wrist with some dissatisfaction: “It’s sore, do it yourself.”

How could that work?

“Soon, soon, I’ll do it for you.” With a hoarse voice, Yan Mingting took his hand and covered it again.

At last, Zhao Yelan took several handkerchiefs to wipe his hands.

Yan Mingting tidied up and put on his outer garments. He got off the carriage energetically, but his legs were shaking a bit.

The soldiers looked at him with complicated expressions.

Yan Mingting was embarrassed for a moment, and thought to himself that he had been hugged all night, how could his legs not be soft? He rode straight on his horse and gave the order to speed up so as to reach Zhizhou before noon.

The sharp-eyed Zuo Ran chased after Yan Mingting on horseback and said: “General, your neck is red.”

Yan Mingting touched his neck subconsciously and said: “Mosquito bites.”

“I know you have mosquito bites, but aren’t they on the left?” Zuo Ran said, “There are clearly teeth marks on the right side, and they look quite deep.”

“…….” Yan Mingting suddenly remembered the scene where Zhao Yelan went wild in the middle of the night and bit his neck several times.

“Ranran, you saw wrong, it’s only mosquito bites.” 

After Yin Pinglu finished talking with Zhao Yelan, she took a box of ointment from her pocket and tossed it to him: “Here, General.”

After speeding up, the team finally reached the Sun mansion by lunch. Once the subordinates were settled in, they followed Magistrate Sun to the mansion for a meal.

Yin Pinglu had met Magistrate Sun when she was young, and had also met Sun Muyun a few times. They were little sisters who had a good relationship, but rarely saw each other due to the distance.

When Magistrate Sun saw her, he sighed with regret for the impermanence of the world. Yin Pinglu, however, didn’t care much, and asked about Sun Muyun’s situation.

While the two reminisced about the past, Zhao Yelan looked at Yan Mingting’s red and white neck and asked: “What’s wrong with your neck?”

Yan Mingting asked in a low voice: “Isn’t this your good work?”

Zhao Yelan frowned and reached out to wipe his neck. There was a layer of grease on his fingertips, and when he looked again, it immediately became clear. 

Most likely Yan Mingting had used grease to cover the teeth marks, but the weather was too hot and the grease had begun to mottle.

Zhao Yelan knew he was in the wrong, so he silently lowered his head to eat.

At this time, Magistrate Sun moved a few more pots of lotus wine to the table: “Come, it has been a long journey. My lord and the General should drink some wine to quench their thirst.”

Yan Mingting immediately laughed out loud to the puzzlement of the others, who looked at him doubtfully.

“I won’t drink anymore.” Zhao Yelan now had a psychological shadow regarding the lotus wine. “I still have to do business in the afternoon, so drinking would cause a delay in work.”

“He doesn’t drink well, let me do it. I won’t cause a delay in work.” Yan Mingting took the wine with a smile and drank with the others.

After the meal, everyone gathered in the study and Magistrate Sun brought up the current situation: “Thanks to Zhao-daren’s letter a few days ago, I made preparations early and discovered that a total of eight counties were affected by the disaster in the Zhizhou area. The refugees were all housed in one place. Now in the next county over, there is a lake that is barely surviving and will soon be drained. If it doesn’t rain again, I fear that it will not be able to last more than a few days, and our disaster money has already been exhausted.”

“I’ve brought you the silver,” Zhao Yelan said.

“That truly solves our urgent need.” Magistrate Sun let out a long sigh of relief.

“We hardly met anyone on our way, and the fields were dry, so we should not evacuate anyone in this direction. We can evacuate in three directions, east, north, and south,” Zhao Yelan said, pointing on the map.

“All right, but the manpower……” Magistrate Sun wondered.

“I’ve brought that for you too,” Zhao Yelan pointed to Yan Mingting.

Yan Mingting nodded and went out to form six teams, three to move refugees and three to transport food.

Zhao Yelan had tried to connect several disaster relief sites in Huaizhou together, so that a lot of labor could be saved.

“What water sources are there in the city?” Zhao Yelan asked.

After Magistrate Sun finished his detailed explanation, Yin Pinglu suddenly frowned and pointed to a mountain at the boundary line, saying: “There is also a fresh spring here.”

“It’s a bit far from here, how do you know?” Magistrate Sun asked.

“When I came to Zhizhou as a guest in my youth, Muyun secretly took me there to play. But the location was somewhat difficult to find, and it is unknown if there is still water,’ Yin Pinglu said.

“Can you still remember the exact location?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Yin Pinglu recalled for a moment: “Yes.”

“Then you take some people to check.”

“All right.”

“I’ll go,” Zuo Ran volunteered.

After the two left, Zhao Yelan proposed to take a look around the city again, and went to the streets alone with Yan Mingting.

Compared to when he came here before, there were no people on the streets. The shops were all closed, and the sun was scorching.

Yan Mingting held an umbrella over the two of their heads. Zhao Yelan glanced around, and stood atop the city gate in the end, overlooking the dry scenery. He said: “I’ve never looked forward to a rainy day so much.”

“Why do you hate rainy days?” Yan Mingting asked.

“Because when it rains……people can die.” Zhao Yelan gazed up at the cloudless sunny sky. “But if it doesn’t rain, people will still die.”

“It will rain,” Yan Mingting said.

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched: “Tell me, are those rain rituals useful?”

“They’re probably for peace of mind. If there is no other way, people will want to pray to the heavens.” Yan Mingting turned to look at him. “Do you want to pray to the heavens?”

What Zhao Yelan hated most was talk about the principles of heaven and the like. He looked away and turned to descend the tower: “Fuck the heavens, I only have faith in man-made things.”

Yan Mingting smiled.

“There are many lakes in Huaizhou and Zhizhou, but they are too small to maintain during a drought. I was thinking, would it be possible to dig ditches in the future and find a way to circulate water from the Huaihe River?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Yan Mingting agreed with his proposal, but said: “The scope of this project is too large. It will look like a waste of time and money, and the results may not be satisfactory. Most likely, the Imperial court will not agree with your suggestion.”

“But if protective measures aren’t taken, waiting for the next time, and the next, isn’t such a situation still just waiting to die?”

“Then have you thought about what to say to the court?”

Zhao Yelan’s eyes sharpened: “After the disaster has subsided and the losses have been recovered, I will be this villain.”

“Okay, I’ll support you,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan gave him a sideways glance: “I may be accused by thousands of people.”

“I’ll help you scold them back.”

Zhao Yelan laughed out loud.

When approaching the Sun Mansion, Zhao Yelan suddenly became dizzy. He wanted to speak but had no strength to do so, just grabbing Yan Mingting’s sleeve as he fell uncontrollably to the ground.

Yan Mingting caught him and called him a few times, but seeing that he didn’t respond, he quickly carried him back to Sun Mansion and hurried to find a doctor. After diagnosis and treatment, it was confirmed to be heat stroke.

Running around outside for several days, coupled with exposure to the sun, had eventually caused him to fall ill.

Yan Mingting was a little vexed. He had only thought about his fear of the cold, but ignored the current situation and followed him outside for a long time.

Zhao Yelan was given some medicine, and woke up several times in a daze with a wet handkerchief on his forehead and someone continuously fanning him at his side.

Later, when he was half asleep and half awake, he heard many people coming to visit, but they were all dismissed by Yan Mingting and only Magistrate Sun was left behind.

Magistrate Sun had come to inquire about the deployment plan. Zhao Yelan really wanted to get up and explain it to him face-to-face, but he had no strength at all and couldn’t even open his eyes. Then he heard Yan Mingting explain the plan to him in detail, and without any mistakes, so he fell asleep with peace of mind.

At night, he heard Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu rushing in again: “My lord, my lord, I’ve found the source of water! Although it isn’t much, it’s enough for us to drink for the time being!”

“Shhh.” Yan Mingting motioned for them to keep their voices down. He had them take turns resting while the other led his men to carry water.

Listening to their conversation, Zhao Yelan gradually settled down. Before falling asleep, a sentence popped up in his mind – why be afraid, if the sky falls, there is a tall man there to hold it up.

It was already noon when he awoke again, and he opened his eyes weakly, rolling them around.

“You’re awake?” Yan Mingting looked at him, overjoyed.

“En……” Zhao Yelan noticed his bloodshot eyes and the fan in his hand, and guessed that he hadn’t slept all night.

“Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something first?” Without waiting for him to nod, Yan Mingting hurried to the kitchen and brought back a bowl of porridge. Then he helped him sit up and fed him the porridge himself. “Porridge is a rarity now, so you can’t be disgusted.”

Zhao Yelan took a few weak sips and heard footsteps outside. It was Magistrate Sun, who had come to report the progress of the refugee evacuation.

“Zhao-daren, it’s wonderful that you’re awake,” Magistrate Sun said happily.

“All right, just tell me what’s happened in the past few days.” While feeding the porridge, Yan Mingting discussed important matters with Magistrate Sun before having him leave, and then found that Zhao Yelan had been staring at him.

“What? Is there something wrong with my delegation?” Yan Mingting asked.

Zhao Yelan shook his head, and a smile gradually appeared on his pale face.

After he finished the bowl of porridge, Yan Mingting helped him lay down again so that he could continue to rest.

“You come and lie down too.” Zhao Yelan patted the space next to him.

Yan Mingting was afraid that he would be hot, so he just lay on his side, trying to prevent physical contact.

Zhao Yelan gazed at him quietly. Even though he felt ill, his heart was extraordinarily peaceful. Was this the feeling of being able to rely on someone? He didn’t need to worry about anything, nor rack his brains to consider the dangers to be faced. He just needed to lie down peacefully to recuperate, open his mouth to be fed, and hold out his hands to be dressed. Such a day could actually happen to him?

When a person became accustomed to living alone, he would get used to doing everything by himself, and it was even harder to believe that anyone would love him.

However, Yan Mingting was the exception.

Yan Mingting was intelligent and sensitive when it came to important matters. He would be foolish when facing himself, but was actually someone who could be relied upon with confidence. More importantly, he could feel the depth of Yan Mingting’s love that he had never expressed in words.

The more difficult it was to say, the heavier it became.

On this point, they had a tacit understanding.

“I had a dream last night,” Zhao Yelan said softly.

“What dream?” Yan Mingting unconsciously lowered his voice, and helped brush away the dark hair that fell on his cheeks.

“I dreamt about our wedding night in the bridal chamber.”

In the dream, he had completely dispelled his hostility toward Yan Mingting. The two of them drank the wine in a friendly manner, chatting about their respective experiences in the frontier and the capital over the years. Even before dawn, he obediently followed Yan Mingting to do horse stance.

He hated horse stance because he thought it was unsightly and troublesome, and more importantly, he didn’t want to maintain his health at the time. It was just superfluous.

But in the dream last night, he subconsciously wanted to live a good life, because he was not alone in his current world.

He wanted to live a little bit longer, so that he could grow old with Yan Mingting.

“Wedding night in the bridal chamber?” Yan Mingting echoed, the corners of his mouth rising.

“En.” Zhao Yelan was about to tell him that when they returned to the capital, he would exercise his body well, do horse stance with him, and learn how to ride a horse and shoot a bow.

But in the next moment, he heard Yan Mingting ask with an uncontrollably joyful expression on his face: “On the wedding night in your dream, did I succeed?”

The corner of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched: “……”

T/N: Psst, it’s my birthday. Have a chapter.

---

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

Xia Xingchi had gradually gotten used to Li Chengyuan repeatedly recognizing the wrong person. Aside from the mysterious transmigration incident, he was telling the truth, but this madman just wouldn’t believe it.

He was the same age as the original owner and two years younger than Li Chengyuan. He absolutely wasn’t that kid who was a few years older than him. The original owner had never been to the capital back then, and he wasn’t from the same world at all.

After transmigrating, being forcefully recognized as the White Moonlight by a person in the book was something Xia Xingchi had never expected.

“Release your precious claws.” Xia Xingchi poked Li Chengyuan’s hand, which was grasping his wrist. “I’m going to make cat food. If the cat is starved to death, Sir, will you compensate me?”

– – –

The green tea spirit’s observation was very astute, and what he said was correct. Li Chengyuan was indeed slightly hypoglycemic at the moment, and his face was very pale.

Xia Xingchi had originally wanted him to lie down and rest, but this person was extremely controlling and clingy. He refused to lie down at all, and instead went to the kitchen with him.

Everyone was out completing tasks at this time, and there was no one to break the silence except for the two who took sick leave to cook porridge. The room seemed completely deserted.

Xia Xingchi cleared his throat, pretending to be polite and respectful in front of the camera: “Mr. Li, you go out first, the oily smoke is too heavy in here.”

If not for the camera, he would have given Li Chengyuan a hard kick. This man’s lips were white, yet he insisted on sitting in the cramped, narrow kitchen and staring at people. This was not ordinary paranoia.

Li Chengyuan strayed from his usual appearance of indifference and poise, and looked a little more laid-back than usual, but Xia Xingchi knew that he was just dizzy and couldn’t sit upright.

[Wu wu wu Mr. Li! I thought I wouldn’t get to see the male god today]

[His complexion is so bad, ah, why is he still walking around like this instead of lying down in bed?]

[To love dearly is to love dearly, but why am I drooling……he suddenly seems like an extraordinarily ascetic beauty]

[Really! The sick Mr. Li has an especially fragile and broken feel. Nice, he is indeed a male god]

[Xingchi baby! We believe that you are the real deal! Please fatten up Mr. Li, we leave our male god to you!]

The corn mush was a bit crude, but the organic food was quite appetizing.

While Xia Xingchi was making porridge, he couldn’t help but think about cooking japonica rice and red date porridge for Li Chengyuan after they went back.

In fact, Xia Yu was probably just a despicable person jumping about. His purpose of causing confusion and making the fans fight was achieved, so there should be no problem with his bowl of porridge.

After all, if he really threw in his lot with Li Shengrui, he would be very aware of Li Chengyuan’s vigilance and cleanliness. He would not eat anything that person made, so poisoning him would be a waste of time.

And if Li Chengyuan really had an accident after drinking the porridge, Xia Yu would simply be a blatant murderer and cause his own destruction. No matter how vicious the protagonist was, he was still the protagonist, after all. It was unlikely that he would go that far.

But even if the risk was one in ten thousand, Xia Xingchi didn’t want his big kitty cat to be in danger.

“Should I add sugar for you?” Xia Xingchi turned his head to ask.

It sounded like a question, but as he spoke, he forcibly added sugar to the porridge.

Li Chengyuan didn’t like it sweet, but the porridge was very thick, and adding more sugar could greatly relieve the symptoms of hypoglycemia.

[Hahaha baby, you are so sincere. This will be the death of Mr. Li]

[Knock, knock. Add sweetness first, I know well this method of getting along]

[He would rather drink the simple corn paste made by his wife than the delicate stomach-nourishing porridge with green tea. Mr. Li did a great job!]

[Upstairs, who are you calling green tea? It’s no use deceiving yourself and others. Do you need the engagement invitation thrown in your face?]

[Wu wu wu I now feel that Xiao Yu has been cheated on. Don’t rich people love to cheat?]

[Hug hug Xia Yu. Watching this scumbag spoil his image and flirt with the mistress, I really want to cry]

[Is Li Chengyuan worthy of the engagement ring on his hand? He got engaged to Xia Yu and flirts with a male mistress.]

[Laughing to death, is this the beginning of President Li being a scumbag? Isn’t this the “noble and glamorous male god that only Xia Yu is worthy of?]

[If you can’t obtain it, you’ll destroy it. You family is so cowardly, you probably don’t know how many fans Mr. Li has for you to scold him like that]

A full-time green tea’s skills were always fully utilized. Although it was humiliating to be rejected after making porridge, Xia Yu had the ability to turn decay into magic —

He sat in front of the camera without making it seem intentional, drinking the returned porridge bit by bit in silence. His aggrieved look and reddish eyes were quite pitiful, and some fans who were eager to protect their idol boldly began to scold Li Chengyuan.

On the other side, Xia Xingchi didn’t care about Xia Yu’s performance. Anway, after the lies were exposed, someone would always be a contemptible scoundrel.

He took out the hot porridge, briefly fried a few light dishes, and finally served them all together: “Eat it while it’s hot.”

He wanted to give Li Chengyuan some lightly salted water to supplement his salt and hydration levels, but was afraid of irritating his glass stomach and causing him to vomit again, so he had no choice but to give it up.

As soon as Li Chengyuan caught sight of the food, his stomach seemed to hurt even more, so he pursed his lips and remained motionless.

“Mr. Li, please be sure to finish the bowl of porridge and eat all of this. This way your body can recover sooner.” 

Xia Xingchi wore a waiter’s professional smile, with “utmost benevolence” written all over his face. What he meant was if you don’t eat it, I’ll force you to eat it.

Li Chengyuan had no choice but to pick up the bowl and take a sip, realizing that he may be pushing too hard. The porridge was so sweet that it was a bit bitter, and his sense of taste, which had been dulled by the fever, became even more numb.

Seeing him obediently eating, Xia Xingchi was finally satisfied. He nodded and said in a low tone that the microphone couldn’t pick up: “I’ll check the results in a while, have a good meal.”

[That whisper! Let me hear it quickly!]

[I’m crying, how can he let boss Li eat it himself, feed him quickly, Xingchi! The boss’s fragile side is so beautiful, wuwuwu]

[Mr. Li’s eyes seem like he’s waiting to be fed. What kind of peerless contrast is this, my heart is melting!]

[I’m speechless. There is so much drama coming from a certain family. Isn’t it normal to cook porridge for roommates? I don’t see Li Chengyuan wanting to be fed, can’t you all see the contents of the invitation?]

[I only saw President Li say to Xia Yu, “Your hands are dirty.” Hahaha are you angry? Are you in a hurry to resort to desperate measures?]

The two sides were still fighting crazily, and passers-by looked at the conclusive evidence from both sides, feeling at a loss.

Li Chengyuan had been wearing an engagement ring on his right middle finger, but the owner of the other one had become the biggest mystery in the entire entertainment industry at present, and various conjectures emerged endlessly.

Xia Xingchi immediately became happy when he saw a certain person seriously drinking porridge to give him face. Somewhat worriedly, he told him to just let it go if he couldn’t drink it, he was just running his mouth, don’t get a stomach ache. 

He spoke as if he was raising a kitten who never knew how hungry it was. Li Chengyuan thought of his sentence, “I feel distressed,” yesterday and couldn’t help but smile imperceptibly.

After Xia Xingchi sat and watched Li Chengyuan for a while, he rolled up his sleeves and got up to cook for everyone.

He estimated that they would be back soon, just in time for a hot meal. Although he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he figured that everyone must have experienced the torment and devastation of dark cuisine in the morning.

As soon as the food was served on the table, he heard Li Xiu calling upon entering the door: “Ahhh, Xingchi, I love you! I’m so hungry!”

Han Yuanhe also heard the news: “What delicious food did you make for lunch today? Oh my god, it smells so great.”

These few people who hadn’t eaten in the morning were already ravenous after experiencing the ravages of labor reform. When they saw a table full of hot dishes with meat and vegetables, they immediately salivated.

For a cook, having their food be liked by everyone really gave a sense of accomplishment.

Xia Xingchi smiled and said: “Then go wash your hands before eating, and bring chopsticks and bowls on your way back.There’s hot polenta in the kitchen, I’ll serve you some.”

The industrious migrant worker was very satisfied when he noticed that the boss had finished his food, so he took Li Chengyuan’s bowl and chopsticks to wash them and came back to eat lunch.

Li Xiu was already starving. This might be the most delicious meal he had eaten in the past twenty years, and he praised as he ate: “Wu wu Xingchi is really nice, Mr. Li is so lucky –”

Halfway through the statement, he thought of Xia Xingchi stubbornly clinging to his disguise, and hastily changed his words: “Mr. Li is lucky to be able to eat the dishes cooked by Xia Xingchi in advance.”

Li Chengyuan, who was sitting to the side and watching Xia Xingchi eat, heard these words and a slight smile flashed across his usually indifferent face.

Xia Xingchi was already used to his disguise being tugged at by everyone in turn. Pretending to reproach him, he slanted a glance at Li Xiu, who had almost said something wrong, but the other buried his head in his food.

A certain person who was ill had become extraordinarily assertive and clingy, and Xia Xingchi knew that as long as he didn’t go back, Li Chengyuan would sit there and stare at him paranoidly. 

So he didn’t chat too much anymore, quickly finishing his meal and grabbing Li Chengyuan to go back and rest more.

– – –

“Lie down quickly and take a nap.” Xia Xingchi quickly pressed Li Chengyuan onto the bed as soon as he entered the room.

“I just woke up.” Li Chengyuan was expressionless as he helplessly expressed the fact that he was not a pig and couldn’t sleep all the time.

“But shouldn’t the patient have a good rest? If you don’t want to sleep, you can just lay down and close your eyes for a while.”

As Xia Xingchi spoke, he tilted his head and appraised him carefully: “Is there something wrong with you? Is your stomach still hurting? Why is your complexion worse?”

He had thought that after making him eat something, the symptoms of hypoglycemia would be relieved and his complexion would be slightly better, but at this moment, not only was he sickly, but his face was even paler than before.

Li Chengyuan remained silent. The dizziness, stomach pain, and nausea were indeed getting worse.

Although somewhat out of the ordinary, this was not uncommon before, and for him this was commonplace and not too unusual.

So he didn’t say anything, and let Xia Xingchi bury him in bedding, but ordered: “You get in bed and lie down too.”

Xia Xingchi had no choice but to take off his shoes and coat and come up. He sat beside him and gently massaged his stomach, thinking to himself that little master Xia’s skills were usually very expensive, and it was really generous of him to give out unlimited samples for free.

While he rubbed, Li Chengyuan’s cold hand reached out and grabbed Xia Xingchi’s wrist.

He thought the other had something to say, but saw his fingertips caressing the crescent-shaped scar on his wrist.

It was not entirely accurate to say that it was a crescent, because it was very narrow, more like a curved arc.

“Xia Xingchi, do you know how this scar came about?” Li Chengyuan asked abruptly.

It didn’t sound like he was asking about a scar on another person’s wrist, but seemed like he was asking about his own wrist which he was very familiar with.

Xia Xingchi felt a little strange, but thought he was just making small talk, so he said casually: “I forgot, maybe I fell when I was a child?”

He remembered the scar on his wrist as if it had always been there. Although he couldn’t remember the cause, it was indeed a very conspicuous and deep scar.

Unexpectedly, Li Chengyuan didn’t seem to accept this statement: “How could a fall cause such an injury?”

“Who knows.” Xia Xingchi tilted his head. “It’s normal for children to get injured when climbing all over the place. I can’t remember where they all came from, can I?”

In addition, he had been beaten and abused since he was a child, so it was normal to have so many wounds and scars.

Li Chengyuan kept staring at him with a strange expression on his face.

Xia Xingchi could help but feel his blood run cold when he saw it, so he said angrily: “What do you want! I don’t participate in beauty pageants, do you have strict requirements for my appearance? What’s wrong with my scars! I look like your White Moonlight, isn’t that enough?”

It was fine role-playing a stand-in, but if he couldn’t even have extra scars on his body, that was another price.

After thinking about it, Xia Xingchi pointed at the scar and asked: “You’ll give up now, right? I’m not at all your –”

“I bit this scar,” Li Chengyuan said suddenly.

Xia Xingchi stared blankly.

After blinking at him for a long time, he finally realized what the big villain was saying. He knew what the words meant individually, but together, they were confusing.

Looking at Li Chengyuan’s expression again, he didn’t seem to be joking at all. He just stated one certain fact with a calm and serious expression.

“How is that possible, are you crazy……?”

Xia Xingchi opened his mouth and looked at his wrist hesitantly.

But he suddenly realized that it really seemed like a bite mark, because there was another bite-shaped mark on the other side of his wrist that was shallow and could barely be seen.

The moment he heard these words, a picture flashed through his mind:

The young child was trembling in pain in his arms, biting his lip so hard that blood was dripping from it, and he had to hand over his wrist for lack of anything else to replace it.

But Xia Xingchi was sure that he had never met such a child when he was young, and if he could really hand over his own wrist to let him bite it and leave such a deep scar, he must certainly have had the other party in his heart, and it would be impossible for him to forget.

The more he thought about it, the more unbelievable it became. Xia Xingchi stared at his wrist for a few seconds. No matter how much tried to recall, he didn’t feel like he had lost any memories at all, but thought that what Li Chengyuan said really had some basis.

So he turned his head to ask Li Chenyuan, but realized that in a blink, Li Chengyuan’s face had become as pale as paper.

His lips were slightly blue, and his breathing was short and labored.

“What’s wrong with you!” Xia Xingchi was stunned at this sight and quickly helped him sit up. “Is this better? Why are you suddenly like this, where is it uncomfortable?”

Li Chengyuan frowned rigidly. His lips moved, but his throat was tight and he couldn’t speak. In the end, he could only weakly push Xia XIngchi away and try to get out of bed. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as if he wanted to vomit.

“Does your stomach hurt?” Xia Xingchi hastily stood to help him up.

It seemed that his symptoms of hypoglycemia were getting worse, and he was so dizzy that he couldn’t stand up straight. This was the first time Xia Xingchi had encountered him in such a bad state, so he didn’t know if these were common symptoms.

But he was clearly still talking just now, and then was suddenly unable to say a word, which frightened him.

What was more terrifying was that Li Chengyuan didn’t improve at all after vomiting. He retched uncontrollably, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat from the pain.

After waiting for a long time, he finally had a little relief. Xia Xingchi helped him back to the living room, worried and distressed, and didn’t know why his stomach ache had started up again.

He went to pour water for him to rinse his mouth, and when he came back, Li Chengyuan couldn’t even stand leaning against the wall, slowly slipped down to sit on the floor in a daze.

Xia Xingchi never expected him to be so dizzy, and rushed over to help him up.

When he got closer, he realized that Li Chengyuan’s lips had turned purple, and he was clutching the clothing over his chest in agony with one hand, struggling to breathe and trembling all over.

“Li Chengyuan!” Xia Xingchi panicked at this sight.

Was he having a heart attack?!

The thought of his stomach trouble and hypoglycemia just now was enough to make Xia Xingchi’s heart rise into his throat, but when he suddenly realized that it was a heart attack, his scalp went numb almost instantly and there was a loud rushing in his ears.

His movements were one step faster than his brain, and before he could think about how Li Chengyuan could all of a sudden fall ill for no reason, Xia Xingchi automatically got up and rushed back to the room.

Although his hands were shaking with fear, his movements were bizarrely fast. He quickly found the nitroglycerin and ran all the way back.

Li Chenyuan’s vision was blurred, and he could faintly hear Xia Xingchi’s nearly crazed voice as if through a thick layer of frosted glass, but when he tried to get up, his whole body felt numb.

The only things he could feel were the sharp pain in his chest and the nausea in his stomach.

The air around him seemed to be gone, and it was impossible to breathe. Li Chenguan was suddenly enveloped in the feeling of suffocation on the verge of death.

No, this wasn’t right……

As Xia Xingchi trembled and unscrewed the bottle cap to pour out the medicine, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but the biggest one was his limitless fear of Li Chengyuan’s death.

He knew that Li Chengyuan’s heart disease was not serious, and that he shouldn’t have such an attack with no stimulation or warning.

Or was it that the gears of destiny could not be stopped once they started turning, and death was Li Chengyuan’s inevitable fate?

At this thought, Xia Xingchi’s eyes immediately became sore and red, and he murmured in a panic: “Take your medicine quickly, it’s fine, it’ll be fine……”

The door opened without warning, and Li Xiu brought in a bowl of small tomatoes picked that morning for Xia Xingchi as he jokingly said into the camera: “Just taking everyone to see our male god –”

Before he could finish speaking, he witnessed a life-or-death scene head-on.

“What’s going on?” Li Xiu was instantly shocked.

The bowl in his hand fell to the ground with the harsh sound of shattering porcelain. The originally tense atmosphere was cut like a string, and instantly went out of control.

Before the medicine in Xia Xingchi’s hand could be stuffed into Li Chengyuan’s mouth, the other’s icy hand gripped his wrist with difficulty:

“No……not……”

Before he could finish speaking, he coughed again in pain, trembling all over.

Xia Xingchi quickly reached out to pat him on the back, but there was suddenly a jarring and ominous garish beauty —

The corners of Li Chengyuan’s lips were stained with shockingly bright red blood. He was actually coughing up blood!

Blood flowed down Li Chengyuan’s lips as they moved. He clearly wanted to say something, but couldn’t make a sound.

He stared fixedly at Xia Xingchi, and there seemed to be some complicated meaning in his eyes.

A moment later, the hand that was gripping Xia Xingchi’s arm loosened powerlessly. Li Chengyuan fell into his arms, completely falling into a coma.

Li Xiu, who was standing to the side, was completely terrified. Everything was happening so quickly.

Even the fans and anti-fans who were fighting in the barrage went instantly silent, shocked by the sudden life-or-death scene.

Xia Xingchi pressed a hand against Li Chengyuan’s chest to feel it, and found that his heart rate was seriously abnormal.

Therefore, he had to grit his teeth from the panic and force himself to calm down, trying to sort out the key points from his confused and chaotic thoughts.

As if they shared a tacit sense of understanding or telepathy, a thought emerged in Xia Xingchi’s mind —

What Li Chengyuan wanted to say before he fell unconscious was, “Not a heart attack.”

This thought was like a viper’s tongue, doubling the horror in Xia Xingchi’s heart and making him feel cold all over. He suddenly became very angry.

He quickly took out his phone and dialed the air emergency number. Trying his best to calm down, he clearly described the various symptoms, especially the potentially fatal arrhythmia.

At the same time, he put away the pills in his hand, not feeding them to Li Chengyuan in the end.

If it wasn’t a heart attack, the only possibility was poisoning. 

Xia Xingchi felt a chill down his spine. He couldn’t figure out and didn’t have time to think about how Xia Yu had succeeded.

But if they wanted Li Chengyuan to die, they would definitely not choose a poison that the medicine he carried around with him could detoxify.

Although he didn’t know what they used for the time being, since everything was part of the other party’s calculations, the pills in his hand were more likely to drive Li Chengyuan toward death than to save his life.

Li Chengyuan had obviously come to this conjecture quite keenly, so the last look he gave Xia Xingchi before passing out clearly expressed his trust in any choice he might make.

It seemed that no matter what choice he made, no matter what the result was, he would not be blamed.

Xia Xingchi took a deep breath. If he made a mistake in judgment and his inferences were wrong, then his act of not feeding him the medicine would be to personally take away Li Chengyuan’s only chance of survival.

This might be the biggest gamble of his life. If he lost the bet, it would cost the life of his most important person.

T/N: On a note unrelated to this awful cliffhanger, I’ve started a new project! Strong Winds Return Home is a long-running wuxia romance that I just couldn’t help picking up. The first chapter is available now!

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Chapter Thirty-One << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Three

T/N: Did I need to take on another project? No. But this one is a lot of fun. My personal synopsis is: “Misunderstood genius accompanies misunderstood prince to solve crimes.”

Liu Fushu, the master of Baihe Mountain Village, was the current number one miracle doctor in the world.

When the situation was turbulent a few years ago, he led three thousand of his family’s disciples and went south to eradicate the plague, and north to heal the wounded soldiers.

Now that the situation was more stable, he was still busy healing the wounded jianghu heroes – the Wulin Alliance was selecting a leader a while ago, so people with broken arms or legs were often carried into the village on stretchers.

The common people also respected Master Liu very much. Even if they just had a general headache, they didn’t feel ashamed to bother the disciples of the Liu family. It must be said that the people in that mountain village were all doing life-saving work.

“Last time I had a strange problem where I was vomiting up blood, and it was Xiao Qizi who looked after me.” 

“Who is Xiao Qizi? 

“The fellow in charge of purchasing firewood in Baihe Mountain Village.”

Look, even the little fellows were so capable, not to mention the true sons of the Liu family. Pick one out at random and they would be worthy of saying “The great doctor Hua Tuo has been reborn!”

Except for the second son, Liu Xian’an.

A well-known layabout in the village, he was idle and lazy. His only advantage may be his face. With eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like peach blossoms, and every movement filled with nobility and elegance, he was an utmost beauty. However, he was like an immortal in a painting, never leaving home or having contact with the outside. He just stayed in his beautiful waterside courtyard all day long, lying on a soft chair and watching the sky, the clouds, the blooming flowers and flying birds, and the drizzle soaking the eaves.

Standing at the gate of the courtyard, Liu Fushu said to his precious good-for-nothing son: 

“You get up and move around.”

Liu Xian’an was actually obedient: “Oh.”

He propped up his upper body and shook the folding fan in his hand twice, moving around.

Liu Fushu was dizzy with anger.

Madam Liu urged her son: “Your elder brother is in the library right now. You can write well, go over and help transcribe the medical classics, that doesn’t take a lot of brains. After copying them, they will be sent to the Imperial Hospital. They will reorganize these medical books and distribute them to the whole territory of Dayan to cure more diseases and save more people.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t move, nor did he respond. He continued to lay on the chair, gazing at a white cloud in the sky. After a long time, he suddenly said: “What joy can be found in life, and what misery in death? It takes too much effort.”

Without further ado, Liu Fushu picked up a rod and went to beat his son.

Madam Liu hurriedly stopped him.

Liu Fushu was apoplectic: “If you were ill today, should I save you or not?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “Save or don’t save, either is fine.”

Li Fushu threw the rod at him furiously.

Liu Xian’an didn’t dodge, and a big bump was smashed into his head.

People outside the courtyard heard the commotion and rushed in to placate them. Madam Liu was worried about her son’s head, but didn’t want to make people feel that she was too doting, so she sternly reprimanded: “Hurry to the library and help your elder brother!” And let him look at your injury by the way.

Liu Xian’an responded by standing up slowly, but he was probably a little dizzy from the knock on the head. Instead of going to the gate, he went straight to the lake.

Plop.

He fell right in headfirst.

Master Liu and Madam Liu were both dumbfounded.

The servants in the courtyard rushed forward to save him, shouting and trembling with fear. The Second Young Master had fallen into the water, but he didn’t seem to be thrashing and struggling. It couldn’t be that so soon……he was gone?

But of course Liu Xian’an would not die so quickly. He just lay prone in the water, as if in a trance. Ah, so this is death. He didn’t feel the slightest panic in his heart. After all, human beings had no beginning nor end.

After learning through experience, he closed his eyes and calmly passed out during the process of everyone rescuing him.

Due to the extreme absurdity of this incident, soon the people of the whole village, the whole city, and even the whole country knew that Second Young Master Liu of Baihe Mountain Village would rather commit suicide by jumping into the lake than help to copy books.

His laziness became well-known all over the nation.

Madam Liu could do nothing about him, so she had to turn around and soothe her husband. Our household is large and prosperous, so what is the harm in supporting him for the rest of his life? And it’s good to be lazy. A while ago, he was diligent and ran outside every now and then, but he was caught by the princess who was playing in the south and almost became a son-in-law.

According to the importance the emperor attached to Baihe Mountain Village, this marriage should have been possible, so why didn’t it work out in the end? The main reason was that Liu Xian’an’s various deeds were too incredible. The emperor truly found it difficult to accept that his younger sister was going to marry such a strange man, so he ended up personally persuading her.

When the common people heard about this incident, they were all very regretful. After all, who didn’t dream of reaching heaven in a single bound to be a relative of the emperor? That Liu Xian’an who had riches and honor delivered to his door lost it all because he was too ignorant and incompetent in daily life.

“Say, if Second Young Master Liu suddenly wakes up to reality and studies diligently, will he still be able to marry the princess?”

“What diligently? I hear that he doesn’t even know where his own library is, and his schooling doesn’t add up to two years.”

Rumors such as this passed on, and the city was very lively for a while.

It was not entirely false. Liu Xian’an really couldn’t find the newly built library at home, but he was familiar with the old building in the back mountain that collapsed the year before last.

It was true that he escaped from school on the first morning. At that time, he was only four or five years old, and instead of fleeing elsewhere, he just sat in the library and flipped through books. Not picking by category or title, he flipped through the pages of the books quickly, his technique comparable to that of a chef slicing noodles.

Normal people obviously didn’t read books in such a way, so everyone thought that Second Young Master Liu was causing unreasonable trouble. Liu Xian’an had just finished flipping through the 13,982 books in the household by himself, and when he returned to school again, he found that the old teacher with the goatee was bobbing his head in a self-satisfied manner, still talking about pretty much the same content as a few years ago.

He was outright astounded.

After he sat down, he saw that his deskmate was still scratching his head at the content from a few years ago, as if he didn’t understand it at all. His stupefaction level was further heightened, and after some hesitation, Liu Xian’an couldn’t help but ask: “What have you been doing all these years?”

The deskmate looked at him strangely: “Studying, of course, ah. While people like you go out to play, we’re working hard.”

Liu Xian’an wanted to ask again, but the teacher was already standing beside him. It was fine if this kid didn’t attend class, but he should be punished for hooking others in to chat and disturbing the order of the classroom.

Second Young Master Liu was beaten for no reason, and he never went to school again.

He also never went to the library again, because he already had three thousand avenues in his mind, a whole vivid, revolving world, and atop the sea of churning clouds, the views of the ancient sages shone like stars. Gradually, Liu Xian’an felt that his thoughts were also floating, like a soaring bird roaming the East China Sea, existing magnificently between heaven and earth.

How small and insignificant was the body compared with the eternal mind, ah.

Liu Xian’an let out a long sigh and closed his eyes, listening to the wind blowing past his ears. He felt extremely relaxed both physically and mentally.

Thinking of that fascinating place, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and among the thousands of drifting flower petals, a smile moved…..the whole back courtyard. Because people in the whole city and even the whole country could not see such a beautiful scene, only the little blushing maids in the back courtyard. They twisted their handkerchiefs as if their lives depended on it, thinking in their hearts that they must save money in the future. In the event that they could marry the Second Young Master, he was so lazy that they would need a lot of money to be able to afford it.

The days passed one by one, and when Liu Xian’an was about to turn twenty, another piece of news came to Baihe Mountain Village, which was still related to the court and marriage.

Madam Liu was surprised: “Why this again, does the princess really like Xian’an that much?”

Liu Fushu handed her the confidential letter: “It’s not Xian’an, it’s A-Yuan. The letter says that the emperor intends for A-Yuan to marry His Royal Highness Xiao Wang,^[1] the Third Prince.”

A-Yuan, whose name was Liu Nanyuan, was Liu Xian’an’s third sister, who was just sixteen years old this year.

As for the Third Prince mentioned in the letter, Liang Shu was the third son of the former emperor, and the general who currently led the army stationed in the northwest.

Master Liu had met him once when he led his disciples to the north to assist the army in the early years. At that time, Liang Shu was just a young boy with a dagger in his hand. He never thought that in a flash, he would reach the age to get married.

Regarding the matter of this marriage, the emperor considered it in such a way: Because he rejected the princess’s marriage to Liu Xian’an a while ago, he always felt that his actions had lost face for Baihe Mountain Village and that they needed to be appeased. Therefore, he scoured the entire court and pinpointed this marriage……the third younger brother was sifted out, and he intended to match him with Liu Nanyuan.

Liang Shu entered the palace overnight: “Brother, think twice.”

Liu Fushu also wanted the emperor to think twice, mainly because the general had a bad reputation. Although he was sure to win every battle, he was violent and bloodthirsty. Among the military expenditures handed over to the Imperial court every year, there had never been the item “prisoners of war.” So where did the prisoners of war go? According to legend, there was a desert to the west of Yacheng. The boulders and sand were stained dark red with blood, and when the strong wind blew, it was like the endless cries of thousands of ghosts, eerie and terrifying.

Therefore, courtiers often wrote letters of exhortation. They euphemistically pointed out that although the third prince had made great achievements in battle, it was really not benevolent to kill prisoners of war.

Liang Yu sat on the dragon chair and asked indifferently: “Killing prisoners of war, have any of you cabinet ministers seen it with your own eyes?”

There was silence below. It was bitterly cold in the Northwest, and wars were frequent, so of course none of them had ever been there. But the prince never asked the court for expenses for the prisoners of war. Wasn’t this true?

Liang Yu answered patiently: “Because my third brother is sympathetic to the emptiness of the national treasury, he has been saving all these years and using his salary to support the group of captives.”

The degree of fantasy in his reasoning was comparable to saying that the captives cost nothing and could survive by drinking the northwest wind. But since the Son of Heaven said so, most of the courtiers kept silent. Only one idiot was still shouting: “But the prince’s salary seems to be far from enough to support so many prisoners of war.”

“It turns out that Qian-daren also realizes this is a big expense.” Liang Yu raised his eyes and looked at him good-naturedly. “That being the case, cabinet minister, you will donate a year’s salary to help the prince.”

Qian-daren: “…….”

Seeing that the situation was not good, the rest of the lords quickly found an excuse and collectively resigned for the day.

When there was no one around, only then did Liang Yu put away his smile and take out a brush to write furiously, don’t cause trouble for me in the future!

After finishing the letter, he sealed it with red wax and attached a cartload of gold and thirty jars of wine and sent it to the Northwest Military Camp overnight.

As soon as the convoy drove out of the Imperial city, everyone knew that the emperor’s favor for His Royal Highness the Third Prince was clearly written on his face.

Since then, no one dared to speak more.

Liu Fushu felt that such a person would be a fierce defender of the frontier, but when it came to getting married and cohabitating, he seemed slightly…..forget it, not slightly. He was very, very unsuitable.

When Liu Nanyuan heard about it, she felt as if she had been hit by a bolt from the heavens. She had always wanted to marry a delicate, gentle man, but now he suddenly became a murderous madman. The psychological gap was too big, so, holding her handkerchief, she went to her close friend at her home and cried. But after crying, she still refused to go home, so she hid in a teahouse and listened to other people’s storytelling.

At sunset, Liu Xian’an leisurely came looking for his sister, waving his fan.

It couldn’t be helped, he was the only one in the family who wasn’t busy.

Liu Nanyuan held her er-ge’s hand and complained: “Why should I marry?”

Liu Xian’an echoed: “Yes, why.”

Liu Nanyuan continued: “I heard that he kills people like flies.”

Liu Xian’an thought this was quite normal. Defending the border and the country would never be like the stories from a storyteller’s mouth, filled with spring flowers and autumn moons, encircled by warblers and swallows. But he didn’t bother to explain this to his sister, and just murmured a few perfunctory words.

When Liu Nanyuan spoke of her misery, she was about to cry again: “Er-ge, tell me, if you were me and about to be married to the prince, what would you do now?”

“If I were you and had to marry such a person,” Liu Xian’an thought for a moment, “perhaps I would jump into the lake.”

After all, ever since he jumped into the lake last time, his parents never mentioned the matter of going to the library to copy books.

Liu Nanyuan lowered her voice: “Does it work?”

Based on his own experience, Liu Xian’an nodded: “It works.”

“Okay!” Liu Nanyuan patted the table. “Then when I find an auspicious day, I will go jump into the lake!”

In the corner not far away, another group of people were listening, dumbstruck……mainly, the lieutenant general was dumbstruck. As for Liang Shu himself, who was sitting next to him, he still appeared leisurely and casual. His sharp eyebrows were lax, and one finger tapped the rim of his cup to the rhythm of the fisherman’s song outside the window, as if he hadn’t heard the conversation of the two siblings next door at all. He did not come south for war this time, so since there was no need to wear the heavy armor of the battlefield, the emperor was of a mind that he would look like a dog when he met his fiancé, and immediately ordered the palace staff to hastily make ten sets of new clothes. The black robes were flowing, and he held a long sword in his hands, as dashing as the son of a noble family going out for a tour. After drinking a pot of tea in the teahouse, handkerchiefs embroidered with mandarin ducks fell in front of his eyes.

This group of people originally wanted to go to Baihe Mountain Village to meet the master of the Liu family, because the emperor firmly believed that this was an earth-shattering and peerless marriage, so he insisted on making the bachelor brother see Miss Liu with his own eyes.

Liang Shu: “This brother —”

Liang Yu: “I’ll cut the military expenditure in half.”

Liang Shu: “I will go to Baihe Mountain Village tomorrow.”

Liang Yu: “Very good.”

On the way here, all the subordinates were still sighing extravagantly. As far as their lord’s illustrious military achievements and his dignified appearance, where was he not a sought-after item? In the case that Miss Liu looked into his eyes and couldn’t extract herself, and insisted on marrying on the threat of suicide, what should be done?

Aiya, miserable, very miserable.

As an unexpected result, they never imagined that the lady was not just unwilling, but was so unwilling that she would rather throw herself into the lake and commit suicide.

How embarrassing, how shameful!

After the Liu brother and sister left, the lieutenant general turned his head with caution and carefully observed Liang Shu, who was wearing a false smile. He tried his best to make his tone sound downcast yet loyal: “Then shall we still go to Baihe Mountain Village?”

Liang Shu lifted his fingers from the rim of the cup and gave a light nod: “We’re going.”

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[1] I believe Xiao Wang is Liang Shu’s title. Xiao means “brave/strong,” and Wang means “royal.” ⮐

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Table of Contents >> Chapter Two

Author: Talking and Laughing 语笑阑珊

Liang Shu sent his people to Baihe Mountain Village and ordered them to discover what Liu Xian’an hated the most.

Several days later, his people returned with the information. Firstly, Second Young Master Liu hates copying books, and secondly, he hates you, my lord.

*

Liang Shu (gong) x Liu Xian’an (shou)

Translator’s Synopsis:

This is the story of a petty, jaded prince and a misunderstood genius doctor who come together against all odds to travel the country and protect the nation and the common people.

Tags: Ancient Setting, Medical Sect, Investigations, Indifferent Protagonist, Genius Protagonist, Prince ML, Slow Burn

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Table of Contents:

Chapter 1	Chapter 35	Chapter 69	Chapter 103
Chapter 2	Chapter 36	Chapter 70	Chapter 104
Chapter 3	Chapter 37	Chapter 71	Chapter 105
Chapter 4	Chapter 38	Chapter 72	Chapter 106
Chapter 5	Chapter 39	Chapter 73	Chapter 107
Chapter 6	Chapter 40	Chapter 74	Chapter 108
Chapter 7	Chapter 41	Chapter 75	Chapter 109
Chapter 8	Chapter 42	Chapter 76	Chapter 110
Chapter 9	Chapter 43	Chapter 77	Chapter 111
Chapter 10	Chapter 44	Chapter 78	Chapter 112
Chapter 11	Chapter 45	Chapter 79	Chapter 113
Chapter 12	Chapter 46	Chapter 80	Chapter 114
Chapter 13	Chapter 47	Chapter 81	Chapter 115
Chapter 14	Chapter 48	Chapter 82	Chapter 116
Chapter 15	Chapter 49	Chapter 83	Chapter 117
Chapter 16	Chapter 50	Chapter 84	Chapter 118
Chapter 17	Chapter 51	Chapter 85	Chapter 119
Chapter 18	Chapter 52	Chapter 86	Chapter 120
Chapter 19	Chapter 53	Chapter 87	Chapter 121
Chapter 20	Chapter 54	Chapter 88	Chapter 122
Chapter 21	Chapter 55	Chapter 89	Chapter 123
Chapter 22	Chapter 56	Chapter 90	Chapter 124
Chapter 23	Chapter 57	Chapter 91	Chapter 125
Chapter 24	Chapter 58	Chapter 92	Chapter 126
Chapter 25	Chapter 59	Chapter 93	Chapter 127
Chapter 26	Chapter 60	Chapter 94	Extra 1
Chapter 27	Chapter 61	Chapter 95	Extra 2
Chapter 28	Chapter 62	Chapter 96	Extra 3
Chapter 29	Chapter 63	Chapter 97	Extra 4
Chapter 30	Chapter 64	Chapter 98	Extra 5
Chapter 31	Chapter 65	Chapter 99	Extra 6
Chapter 32	Chapter 66	Chapter 100	Extra 7
Chapter 33	Chapter 67	Chapter 101
Chapter 34	Chapter 68	Chapter 102

After Zhao Yelan returned to his room, he quickly changed his clothes and sniffed his body for any smells.

He had been so busy these days that he had no time to groom himself at all, let alone have the luxury of taking a bath. He could only wet a handkerchief with water and wipe himself repeatedly all day, but he felt that he still stank during this time, so he wore two sachets at once.

Then he looked at the wound in the bronze mirror. A scab had formed and it itched a bit. It would take a few days to fully recover.

He inadvertently licked his lower lip in annoyance, finding that it was a little dry and his complexion was a little tanned. 

For a time, he was in a mad rush and didn’t know where to tidy up.

As soon as he picked up the handkerchief and was about to wash his face, the door of the room was pushed open with a “pa,” and Yan Mingting broke in.

He looked toward the door at once and took a deep breath, pretending to be calm: “I haven’t allowed you in yet.”

Yan Mingting had already come before him as soon as he spoke, holding his face in one hand to inspect the injury on his forehead: “How did it happen?”

Zhao Yelan averted his face in embarrassment and turned around: “I was accidentally hit by someone.”

“Didn’t you promise me to take good care of yourself?” Yan Mingting asked, following behind him.

Zhao Yelan kept his composure and quickened his steps: “The incident happened suddenly.”

“Then why are you hiding? What else is wrong?” Yan Mingting asked.

Yin Pinglu stood at the door, watched the two people circle the table three times, then smiled helplessly and closed the door for them. As soon as she walked to the front hall, she caught a glimpse of a figure rushing through the door.

“Pinglu! I’m here to find you!”

Yin Pinglu raised her head and saw a smiling person standing under the sun. Her face was unknowingly taken over by a smile, and when she raised her foot to step outside, Zuo Ran acted faster and ran towards her and into her arms.

. . . . . .

The two people in the room finally stopped when Yan Mingting grabbed Zhao Yelan and said: “No more, I’m going to faint.”

It’s better for you to be dizzy, Zhao Yelan thought.

Yan Mingting lowered his head to study the injury. Zhao Yelan subconsciously raised his hand to cover it, but Yan Mingting grabbed it.

“Don’t touch the wound, be careful of infection and inflammation. It’s scabbed over, just bear with it and it will heal,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan glanced at him a few times, and seeing that he didn’t think the wound was ugly, he was secretly relieved. 

“Are there any other injuries?”

“None.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“There really aren’t.” Zhao Yelan even turned around to show him that he was safe and sound.

Unexpectedly, Yan Mingting grasped his shoulders, lowered his head, and kissed his lips: “I’m checking to see if you injured your mouth.”

“…….” Zhao Yelan didn’t know whether to laugh or get angry, but still acquiesced to his childish behavior, and the two kissed silently.

Absence making the heart grow fonder was no lie. Zhao Yelan could feel that his kiss was unequivocal this time, and his hands also caressed his back firmly. He wanted to speak but couldn’t, just humming twice. Yan Mingting became more enthusiastic, picking him up and setting him on the table.

Zhao Yelan was free to take a breath, and he looked down. From this angle, he could clearly see the infatuation in Yan Mingting’s eyes. He cupped the other’s cheek with the corners of his mouth curved, and lowered his head for a kiss.

The sun was shining outside as the two of them embraced each other inside the room. Zhao Yelan felt that his body was getting hot and sweaty, and sweating meant it would stink. He pushed the other person away and asked about business as if nothing had happened: “Have all the relief supplies come down?”

“En, the Imperial court squeezed out another 50,000 taels, as well as some everyday supplies, and local officials along the way also raised some silver.” Yan Mingting raised his hand with a smile and wiped away the traces of wetness around his mouth. “I met with the team when I was about to arrive at the capital. On the way, I sent a letter by pigeon to Zuo Ran to bring the original group of people and take the water route so that the journey would be faster.”

Zhao Yelan nodded.

“The new magistrate and the magistrate of Pi county are also here. They’re just outside, do you want to meet them?”

“Let’s go, ba.” Zhao Yelan had just taken two steps when he suddenly stopped and turned around.

Yan Mingting was almost trampled on. Seeing him take the initiative to throw himself into his arms, he couldn’t help wrapping him up in an embrace: “Why aren’t you going?”

“I haven’t checked on you yet.” Zhao Yelan gripped his chin, looked right and left, and stroked his cheek again.

After being exposed to the sun for several days on the road, his skin had not turned into charcoal and was only a little red, but……

“Where did the red mark on your neck come from?” Zhao Yelan asked with narrowed eyes.

“What red mark?” Yan Mingting rubbed his neck. “Oh, there were a lot of mosquitos at night. I’ve been bitten in several places and there are also some on the back. If you don’t believe me, look.”

He turned away, revealing the marks on the back of his neck.

Zhao Yelan touched them and they were still swollen, so he believed they were mosquito bites. He walked out without a change of expression: “Let’s go out and have a look.”

Two men, one old and one young, stood in the hall, listening to the head official’s introduction to the affairs of the government office.

Zhao Yelan went out to find that they were old acquaintances.

The elder was a bachelor of the Imperial Academy, who had come to take up the post of magistrate. They were both fourth-rank positions, so it could not be considered a promotion. It was only that his ancestral home was in Jiangnan, and he hoped to return to his roots when he became old, so he accepted this position.

And the younger person was Wang Guisheng, who was favored for his agreement with the Emperor’s political views. His upright temperament was just right for Jiangnan, so he was sent to Pi County to serve as the county magistrate.

“Zhao-daren.” Wang Guisheng was the first to notice Zhao Yelan’s figure, and saluted.

“Don’t be so polite.” Zhao Yelan stepped forward and led the two of them to the back office to discuss the drought.

“The General communicated the situation to us on the way here. If you have any orders, just mention them.” Wang Guisheng did not expect that he would face such a big problem when he first took office.

“You came at a good time. After you receive the official seal in the government office, you will take your people to Pi County and take away the three hundred people in the charity house as well. I’ve already planned the route. Try not to leave anyone behind, and I will arrange for the people who deliver dry food and water to meet with you.”

“What about after arriving in Pi County?”

“Then you arrange for the officers of Pi County to send these people to Quzhou. I have tallied the money, and you will pay the officers more money at that time. Then go to the disaster relief point in the next county to inform the person in charge, and move a little to the north to meet these people.”

“Alright.”

Zhao Yelan informed him of the current situation in Pi County, and Wang Guisheng nodded. After the discussion, he went to get the seal without stopping on the way, and then followed him to the charity house to lead the people.

When the people in the shelter saw Zhao Yelan coming, they all rushed up, calling Zhao-daren enthusiastically and expectantly.

Wang Guisheng was pushed aside when he wasn’t paying attention, while Zhao Yelan was well-protected by Yan Mingting.

“Calm down and listen to me. We’re taking 300 people from here and sending them to Quzhou, who wants to go?” Zhao Yelan said.

Everyone gradually quieted down, and no one spoke for a while because they were reluctant to leave. They had found work here, and still had food and shelter. They would not starve to death for a while. Who knew if they would face death once they left this place?

“There is no drought in Quzhou and Longzhou, but there is no certainty here in Huaizhou. If we continue to suffer, the last drop of water may be drained here, and then we will have to wait for death. It is a better choice to leave while the water source is still barely maintained. Don’t worry, someone will bring you food and water on the road, they won’t leave you alone.” After Zhao Yelan finished speaking, he looked around and pulled Wang Guisheng aside, saying, “This is the newly appointed magistrate of Pi County. He will leave with everyone, so can you rest assured?”

Wang Guisheng said: “Right, we will not abandon you. The most important thing right now is to move to other places. The surrounding areas are already dry, and sooner or later, gathering here will lead to nothing.”

Those people were moved, and someone asked: “Zhao-daren, can  you guarantee that we will not die of hunger or thirst on the way?”

“As long as you hurry on your way obediently and don’t delay other people’s schedules, someone will deliver the food on time,” Zhao Yelan said. 

“Then I will listen to Zhao-daren. I’ll go.”

“We’ll go too.” 

“I happen to have relatives in Quzhou, so I’ll join them.”

While counting the number of people, Wang Guisheng picked up the registration book. Zhao Yelan and Yan Mingting passed by him at this time, and he caught a glimpse of the two holding hands from the corner of his eye. 

He froze for a moment and scratched his hand unconsciously, looking back at them in surprise.

The two held hands all the way to the government office. Zhao Yelan let go, and Yan Mingting paused: “Why did you let go?”

“It’s hot.” Zhao Yelan’s palms were sweaty. “Stop pretending to be wronged here.”

Yan Mingting instantly failed, and followed with a smile.

Under the instruction of the head official, the new magistrate had already learned about the government office’s affairs. As soon as he breathed a sigh of relief, he was dragged off by Zhao Yelan to talk about the current situation. The immediate priority was to evacuate the people in the charity house to other places.

He had sent money to disaster relief sites, and sent people to places without drought to prepare food and water, ready to go meet the refugees at any time.

“I’ve already arranged the manpower, money, and supplies. You should keep an eye on these things and not make any mistakes,” Zhao Yelan said.

“You handed these to me so suddenly. What about you?”

“I must go to Zhizhou, the situation there is not optimistic. Huaizhou is under control for the time being and you are here to watch over the town, so I will go to Zhizhou myself.” Zhao Yelan said calmly, “Yan Mingting will leave some manpower for you, and we will take the rest to Zhizhou. You can use the disaster funds allocated by the Imperial court in Huaizhou, and the money I collected from the merchants will be taken to Zhizhou.”

Zhao Yelan was not worried that he would embezzle in this season. This person was cautious in his actions and would not act boldly upon first taking office.

After an early meal, the group set off in the evening since it was cooler at night.

Sitting in the carriage were Zhao Yelan and Yin Pinglu, while Yan Mingting and Zuo Ran guarded several large boxes of silver outside.

Zhao Yelan and Yin Pinglu discussed their plans after arriving in Zhizhou for a while, and then lifted the curtain to assess the drought situation in the place they passed by.

After a while, Zhao Yelan took another look.

A short time later, he raised the curtain again.

After repeating this several times, he noticed Yin Pinglu’s expression of restrained laughter, and explained awkwardly: “I’m just looking at the situation of this field.”

“En, we haven’t passed this field yet, and my lord has already looked at it seven or eight times.” Yin Pinglu couldn’t help but say, “Are you spying on the General?”

Zhao Yelan was mute, neither admitting nor denying it. After a while, he couldn’t help but lift the curtain with his hand. Upon realizing it, he put his hand down and touched his nose with embarrassment, pretending that nothing had happened.

Yin Pinglu lowered her head.

Zhao Yelan clearly saw the corners of her mouth rising manically.

“…….”

Yin Pinglu coughed to clear her throat, and said: “Zuo Ran told me that the General always wanted to write to you.”

Zhao Yelan paused and looked at her suspiciously.

“But he was on his way at that time and was afraid that you wouldn’t receive the letter, so he wrote it and threw it into the river. He urged the boatman to go faster every day, wishing he could paddle it himself.” Yin Pinglu laughed.

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth rose slightly.

“The General also told Zuo Ran that my lord, you……”

“I what?”

“You kissed him in public.” Yin Pinglu covered her face. “He often brags about it to the lieutenants.”

“……..”

Zhao Yelan lifted the curtain and stared straight at Yan Mingting, who was a few meters behind. The other party felt his gaze and rode to the side of the carriage to ask: “Do you want a drink?” As he spoke, he handed the water bag to him.

Zhao Yelan took a small sip, not much, and returned it, saying: “Come over here.”

“What?” Yan Mingting’s eyes darted as he thought of something, and looked back at the team behind. Many people here had witnessed the scene where Zhao Yelan kissed him in full view, and they all watched curiously.

Yan Mingting leaned over distractedly and asked with a smile: “Do you want to kiss me again?”

Zhao Yelan stretched out his hand and pinched his face hard.

Yan Mingting pretended to have been kissed, and returned to the team with extreme pride.

In the middle of the night, everyone rested in place for a while. Zhao Yelan held a fire paper to check the conditions of the nearby fields.

Yan Mingting went around with him, and when they returned, they leaned against a nearby tree to rest. Feeling a little thirsty, he took out a pot of lotus wine from the carriage and drank it.

“Is there no water?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“There’s a bit more, I’ll leave it to you. Fortunately, there were still several jars of wine given by Magistrate Sun in the carriage.” After speaking, Yan Mingting took another big gulp of wine.

Zhao Yelan took a few glances at him, and his gaze fell on his wine-soaked lips. He suddenly went over to lick them, and seemed to taste lotus.

Yan Mingting stared at him, dumbstruck, then took a few sips and looked at him expectantly.

Zhao Yelan chuckled, but just raised his head to gaze at the starry sky. It seemed that tomorrow would be sunny again.

Seeing that he was not taking the initiative anymore, Yan Mingting simply grasped the other’s head, moved forward, and accurately planted his lips.

After a moment, Zhao Yelan tasted the lotus brew, and the aroma of wine diffused between the lips and teeth of the two.

There was only one last sip left in the jar. Yan Mingting asked him if he wanted to drink. His mouth was parched, so he simply finished the drink from Yan Mingting’s hand.

When they set out again, Yin Pinglu left the carriage. Now that it was late at night, it was inconvenient for her to ride in the same carriage as Zhao Yelan.

“It’s all right for you to ride a horse?” Yan Mingting confirmed.

“Don’t worry, ba, I used to be on horseback for days and nights when I was traveling.” Yin Pinglu smiled and walked to Zuo Ran, who stretched out a hand. She skillfully mounted the horse and sat in front of her.

Seeing this, Zhao Yelan secretly despised his own skills.

While the team was still moving forward, Yan Mingting rode his horse to follow beside the carriage.

Not long after, Zhao Yelan felt a little hot. These two sips of wine should not make him drunk, but perhaps due to the weather or eating very little, he had already started to feel a little inebriated. He opened the curtain and called quickly: “I’m dizzy.”

Yan Mingting came to the side and looked at his flushed face. He immediately realized the cause, and got into the carriage regardless of the eyes of others.

“Are you drunk?”

“Hot……” Zhao Yelan reclined weakly in the carriage and tried to untie his belt, but his outer layer got stuck and he couldn’t take it off no matter what.

Yan Minting had no choice but to help him take off his outer garment. Zhao Yelan tugged at his collar and then felt better, closing his eyes drowsily.

Yan Mingting was afraid he would be uncomfortable, so he fanned him with his fan. The other party was quiet for a while, as if he had fallen asleep.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Yan Mingting continued to fan him until the wheels hit a stone, jolting the carriage. Zhao Yelan opened his eyes in a daze and then stared at him intently.

Yan Mingting immediately shivered, and suddenly realized that he might be about to act abnormally again.

Sure enough, he saw the other party open his arms in the next moment and speak one word in a clear voice: “Hug.”

What else could Yan Minting do, of course he would hug him, ah!

As soon as he sat next to him, the other party hugged him and began to count his crimes: “Why would you rather throw the letter into the river than send it to me?”

Yan Mingting guessed that it was Zuo Ran who informed Yin Pinglu, and then Yin Pinglu turned around and told Zhao Yelan. He explained: “I was afraid you wouldn’t receive it, and feared that it would delay your business.”

“You are my business.”

Yan Mingting’s eyelashes fluttered and he looked sideways at him, the corners of his mouth crazily raised: “What did you say?”

Zhao Yelan blinked his eyes, but refused to say any more. He just found a comfortable angle again, but finally found that sitting like this was not conducive to hugging at all, so he turned around and sat directly on his lap.

Yan Mingting hugged him tighter to prevent him from falling down.

Zhao Yelan thought he was trying to touch his back, and said: “Don’t touch.”

“Okay, I won’t touch, I won’t touch.”

“Not allowed to look either.”

“Won’t look, won’t look.”

Zhao Yelan didn’t believe it. He picked up the belt next to him and covered his eyes.

Yan Mingting raised his head and smiled at him: “So worried about me?”

Zhao Yelan looked down at him, held his face in both hands, and narrowed his eyes slightly: “Tell me, what was written in the letter?”

“Nothing.”

“Say it, do you want me to punish you?”

Yan Mingting felt that his neck was being strangled, and gave a quiet laugh, saying: “Okay, I’ll tell you. The letter said — I miss you, so very much.”

Zhao Yelan released his grip, his fingertips lingering on his cheeks and caressing them gently. Then he put his arms around the back of his neck, lowered his head, and kissed his lips: “I missed you too.”

Yan Mingting’s sight was blocked, but the other four senses became more sensitive. 

Slight panting and moist sounds kept ringing in his ears, and he became more and more enthralled with the other party’s slight fragrance. He couldn’t help but entangle his tongue, plundering the air that belonged to him, and unconsciously fumbled with his hands.

With a “pa,” Zhao Yelan slapped his hand away: “I told you not to touch my back!”

“Oh, sorry, I couldn’t help it.” Yan Mingting assured him that he wouldn’t do it again, and continued to kiss him.

A moment later, Yan Mingting was slapped again: “It won’t be repeated! Believe me!”

---

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

Xia Xingchi was already asleep, but he was startled by Li Chengyuan’s sudden raised voice.

Although this person had a terrible temper, he was calm most of the time. It was rare for him to have such a moment of volatility, sudden and unprovoked.

“Why so loud all of a sudden?” Xia Xingchi tugged at his ears as his soul almost flew away. “I’m just talking nonsense, you —”

Before he could finish speaking, Li Chengyuan, who was anxious to get up just now, fell back down again.

Perhaps due to his urgency, he began to cough uncontrollably.

Xia Xingchi was at a loss. He couldn’t help but suspect that he had said something terrible in a daze just now, but after thinking about it, he felt that he really hadn’t said anything.

“Someone is waiting for me in the rain.” Wasn’t such a meaningless statement at best a bit literary?

After all, even a great poet hoped to meet a girl on a rainy lane.^[1] The difference was that she had symbolic meaning and connotation, while he was just chatting indiscriminately.

For some reason, these words stimulated the fragile glass heart of his big kitty cat apropos of nothing.

Xia Xingchi touched Li Chengyuan’s forehead, which was covered in cold sweat, then touched his palms and cramping stomach.

“Don’t get excited, don’t get excited!” Seeing that Li Chengyuan’s stomach hurt to the point of speechlessness, Xia Xingchi stroked his fur at once. “You took it seriously when I was talking in my sleep just now? Are you confused?”

“Did you……forget something……”

Li Chengyuan’s voice was low and difficult to understand, perhaps because of the intensified stomach pain or because of his fluctuating emotions.

He grabbed Xia Xingchi’s wrist with cold hands, gritted his teeth, and tried to sit up, but Xia Xingchi pushed him back down on the bed: “Lie down! Where is your medicine?”

Xia Xingchi had already figured out what kind of stomach medicine he was taking. The pain was so severe that he had to take anticonvulsants to relieve it.

“Xia Xingchi! Answer me!”

Raising his voice unexpectedly, Li Chengyuan promptly pulled Xia Xingchi’s wrist and dragged him back to the bed!

Xia Xingchi almost fell on top of him. Being yelled at by him was inexplicable. How could this person’s temper just come out of nowhere?

“Answer what, ah.” Xia Xingchi looked at how sick he was and didn’t argue with him for the time being. “What can I forget? I have a good memory – you don’t want to say that I have amnesia, do you?”

As soon as these words were spoken, Xia Xingchi finally understood what was going on with Li Chengyuan.

The second he encountered something related to his “White Moonlight,” he would go crazy. Xia Xingchi had thought he’d given up when he didn’t meet the age requirements before, realizing that he was not his White Moonlight.

Unexpectedly, he had deceived himself and others to the point that he would rather believe in idol drama tropes such as “amnesia.” He was really insane.

At the thought of this, Xia Xingchi sighed with mixed emotions. On the one hand, he felt sour and uncomfortable on his own behalf, and on the other, he felt sorry for the villain and hoped for his sake that he could find the real White Moonlight.

After hearing this firm denial, Li Chengyuan was completely silent.

Xia Xingchi only thought that he had finally lost hope, having confirmed that the substitute and the White Moonlight were two different people, so he got up and turned on the light to find medicine for him.

Fortunately, apart from the poor appliances and facilities, the program team tried their best to quietly replace all the accessories with the best ones, so that the guests would not really have to “experience life.”

The water in the thermos was still very hot. Xia Xingchi mixed a cup of warm water and poured in two packs of stomach medicine: “Boss, get up and take the medicine.”

Li Chengyuan’s face had turned pale from the pain, and it took him a long time to say haltingly in a hoarse voice: “I won’t, turn off the light and go to sleep.”

Xia Xingchi only thought that since his hopes of finding the White Moonlight had been dashed, he was so depressed and his stomach hurt so badly that he didn’t want to take medicine. He couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, but was also inexplicably annoyed, wanting to give him a hard punch.

He also wished he could really be his White Moonlight.

According to Li Chengyuan’s state of mad paranoia, if Xia Xingchi insisted that he lost his memory, and even if the age bug was there, even if he didn’t come from this world at all, maybe Li Chengyuan would believe it without hesitation.

Xia Xingchi sighed. There was a moral bottom line, after all.

It would be too vicious to use lies to impersonate and deceive in order to seize the affection that should belong to others.

“Hurry up and take the medicine!” Xia Xingchi forcibly helped Li Chengyuan up, feeling sour and uncomfortable. “If your White Moonlight knew that you were sick and didn’t take medicine, they would definitely be sad and distressed!”

He thought a certain person would be more heartbroken after hearing this, and expected that he would get angry or refuse to take medicine even more stubbornly.

Who could have imagined that after hearing this, Li Chengyuan would smile with difficulty: “Do you feel distressed?”

“I’m not your —” Xia Xingchi bit back half of the sentence.

Forget it, they didn’t need to talk about it now. He vaguely felt that Li Chengyuan’s mind was a little bit wrong, and it would be over if he became crazy again.

“Yes, I feel distressed.” Xia Xingchi seriously changed his words.

This sentence was not a lie. Although he wasn’t the right person, seeing him dripping with cold sweat from an attack of stomach pain made his heart ache.

Li Chengyuan’s pale lips were slightly pursed, and he obediently took the medicine as if he had been comfortably stroked.

Only then did Xia Xingchi heave a sigh of relief, turn off the light, and lay down to continue rubbing his stomach. He felt more and more that he was raising a bad-tempered big cat with a glass heart and a glass stomach.

If you competed with him, you would lose, and if he got angry, he may bite off the head of his keeper.

– – –

Because Xia Xingchi would overturn the car during the surprise shooting every morning, the program crew felt terrified that they might be included on young master Xia’s assassination list, and were quite nervous this morning.

Surprisingly, this time was entirely outside the norm. Xia Xingchi was actually squatting at the door ahead of them, and when he saw the people from the program team coming, he immediately made a gesture for silence so that they wouldn’t announce themselves with a megaphone this time.

“Shhh, he’s asleep, don’t wake him up,” Xia Xingchi whispered.

He’d thought he would be fine after taking medicine, but it didn’t take long for Li Chengyuan to start feeling sick.

He had barely eaten anything all day, and only clear water mixed with medicine was vomited up, but he still retched uncontrollably. Xia Xingchi could hardly bear witnessing his stomach pain, and could only worry about it from the sidelines.

Even so, this man was still able to push Xia Xingchi away with difficulty, muttering things like “dirty,” “stay away,” and “I’m fine,” and insisted on pushing him back to the room to sleep.

It was fortunate that Xia Xingchi didn’t actually leave. He had just taken a step back when Li Chengyuan swayed and almost passed out due to hypoglycemia.

In addition, the low-grade fever started up again in the second half of the night, and he wasn’t able to sleep for most of it. In any case, Li Chengyuan would definitely not be able to shoot the reality show today.

Xia Xingchi requested in a low voice: “He wasn’t feeling well yesterday, let him rest well today.”

Since discovering that the early bird catches the worm, a group of veteran CP fans had specially set their alarms in order to get up early to watch the live broadcast.

[Oh oh oh! Arranging this so naturally, he has the aura of the empress of the palace!]

[Sure enough, whoever knocks CP! Baby loves to sleep so much, but he can get up early to catch the program team in advance to prevent them from waking Mr. Li. Knock it!]

[Wu wu wu this beautiful love. Mr. Li’s original fans have almost all become CP fans these days, they love each other so much]

At the same time, fans who received the news promptly wailed: 

[President Li is sick? Is it serious? Oh my male god, wu wu]

[The conditions are too difficult! Mr. Li seems to be in weak health all the time. He didn’t eat much yesterday, so he might be done]

[Help, I feel so distressed, I want to see the male god!]

The program team immediately expressed concerns and worries on behalf of the fans, and Xia Xingchi said: “Don’t worry, everyone, he just has a stomach problem and a low-grade fever. When he wakes up, I’ll cook him some porridge, and he’ll be fine once his body temperature drops.”

Only then did the fans feel relieved, and then they couldn’t help but start knocking:

[This is too skillful, it’s certainly not his first time taking care of this! I don’t believe that they didn’t know each other before!]

[The genuine article is different, hahahaha Xia Yu’s leg hairs, is this not a slap in the face, ah?]

[I have already imagined the image of Xingchi leaning into Mr. Li’s arms and rubbing his stomach, I’m knocking to death! Yuanchi is the best ever!]

[@Program group, let Xingchi baby have a good rest, he must not have slept well last night]

[Seconding. Let baby sleep well, Mr. Li must be accompanied by someone. Of course! I wouldn’t mind seeing their sugar-sprinkling actions for myself!]

[This person begs Xingchi to feed the porridge with his own hands! Spoon or mouth feeding, we’re not picky! Begging for sugar, begging for sugar]

The program team naturally nodded. Even if the fans didn’t order them, they didn’t dare to tire Young Master Xia.

What’s more, after the gold master woke up, who knew if he would be furious to find out that the little fiance had been snatched up to record the show and was not by his side?

Xia Xingchi pricked up his ears, and when he heard that he could go back to sleep and still get paid, he was immediately overjoyed. Waving goodbye to everyone, he then quickly and happily returned to the room.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the door, he saw Li Chengyuan sitting up with a pale face, as if he wanted to get out of bed.

“Why are you awake? Go back to sleep, go back to sleep.” Xia Xingchi quickly pushed him back down. “What do you want? I’ll get it for you. Do you want some water?”

Li Chengyuan grabbed his hand. His voice was hoarse and weak, but still commanding: “Let me look at you.”

Xia Xingchi was taken aback by these words. So this person got up just to find him?

How could he be this clingy while he was sick, so afraid that he would run away?

In all honesty, where could he run in the deep mountains and old forests?

The low-grade fever was the biggest ordeal, and Li Chengyuan was obviously in a bad state of mind. This person was beginning to seem like a child again.

Xia Xingchi was worried that he would jump from this stage to the point of madness in a while, so he didn’t dare to provoke him at all, lest he suddenly explode.

He obediently listened to the villain’s order and took off his coat, then happily lay back on the bed to sleep with pay.

Li Chengyuan still seemed anxious, and stretched out his arms to hold him and prevent him from running around, then drowsily fell asleep.

– – –

Due to Xia Xingchi’s absence, everyone was a little torn between omitting breakfast or eating dark cuisine,^[2] and then chose to forgo eating without hesitation.

After all, when they added themselves together, the only one who knew a little bit of cooking was Han Yuanhe. But according to An Jing’s complaints, the food he made was so hard that even dogs wouldn’t eat it, and whoever ate it would go insane.

Han Yuanhe scratched his head and said: “I can still make noodles, ba. And I can also make pickles, which are actually quite good.”

Half an hour later, after a burst of chaos, there was a large bowl of half-raw mushy batter on the table.

The handful of people looked at each other, and finally affirmed An Jing’s evaluation of her boyfriend.

[Good god, a dog would indeed shake its head to see this]

[Life without Xia Xingchi turns out to be so difficult. I finally understand why this episode seems so easy, it’s because of Xia Xingchi!]

[Wu wu wu So what will they do for lunch? I’m so worried]

[It doesn’t matter, Xingchi should come to cook in a while. After all, Mr. Li has to eat porridge]

[I’m late today, can anyone tell me why there are only three people left on the screen?]

[Mr. Li has a stomach problem and Xingchi is taking care of him……but why isn’t Xia Yu here? What is he doing?]

[It must be because Xia Yu has to take care of his fiance, ah! Xiao Yu is his lover, Xia Xingchi is just an ordinary roommate. Oh, I mean male mistress]

[Latest news! There is rather credible inside information that Li Chengyuan just got engaged to the young master of the Xia family last month. There are pictures and evidence!]

[I saw it! I knew Xiao Yu was the real deal!]

This revelation was not only convincing, but it was indeed true. The black gold-stamped invitation card was not cheap at first glance, and the names of the Xia and Li families were written in golden characters.

According to research, the person who broke the news was a waiter at a top private club in Beijing, which was the venue for the engagement dinner.

It was said that this person broke the news offhandedly and with “good intentions,” because he had already resigned. In addition to the invitation, there was also a pixelated work badge. With the incomparably luxurious occasion that day and the celebrities from all walks of life who participated in the banquet, if you added it all together, it was indeed full of truth.

[What else can you say this time? Could it be that after saying that Xia Xingchi is his fiance, you want to say that he is the young master of the Xia family?]

[Is this a slap in the face? I think Xia Xingchi’s fans should eat more plums, now you know what it means to be well-matched socially, ba]

[Don’t think they’re the same because they both have the surname Xia. Xiao Yu is the young master of a wealthy family, and your idol is just third-rate trash from the countryside]

This breaking news was quickly put on the hot search by interested people. After much research, it turned out that none of it was fake, but all of it was true.

Li Chengyuan’s public relations team specially formed for Xia Xingchi was also a little confused about this. After all, although the trend of this hot search was completely wrong, everything was indeed true.

This was quite tricky. They wanted to guide the trend of public opinion, but couldn’t. The truth of “Xia Xingchi is the young master of the Xia family” had no foundation before this, and Li Chengyuan must be consulted if it was to be exposed.

Their boss couldn’t be contacted for the time being, so they could only adapt to the changes and wait, letting fans of both sides fight wildly first.

Xia Yu, who had disappeared early in the morning, suddenly appeared at this time, dressed neatly as if he had been doing something.

“Good morning, everyone!” Even if the brains of people online had turned into those of dogs, green tea feigned ignorance as always.

Because Xia Yu didn’t continue to forcibly insert himself yesterday in order to gain popularity, his CP fans had finally restrained themselves a bit. Unexpectedly, something happened today and they suddenly made a mighty comeback.

Seeing the three people looking at each other with bowls full of dark cuisine, and two people obviously missing, Xia Yu quickly asked with great concern: “Where are Mr. Li and Xingchi-ge?”

“President Li is sick, Xingchi is taking care of him.” Li Xiu thought for a moment and asked, “Speaking of which, why did you leave so early in the morning?”

When Xia Yu heard this, he imperceptibly clenched the hand in his pocket, then said without a change of expression: “I saw that Mr. Li didn’t feel very well yesterday, so I asked the assistant to deliver some stomach-nourishing ingredients and just went to the village entrance to get them.”

After that, he smiled and turned to the program team and said cutely: “For the sake of Mr. Li being non-staff personnel, let’s make an exception for him and give him special treatment.”

The observation was meticulous and considerate, as if he was very familiar with Li Chengyuan and even very affectionate. Knowing that he had a stomach problem, he bought the ingredients specially.

Not only that, but he even rolled up his sleeves, and the “young master” who wouldn’t touch spring water with his fingers decided to cook the porridge himself, which seemed to fit the newly revealed evidence.

“Alas, in fact, I can only cook porridge,” Xia Yu said to the camera, helplessly distressed.

“Mr. Li’s stomach has always been bad. When he was in school, he experienced stomach bleeds several times. He almost couldn’t be saved from one serious one……he’s usually busy with work and doesn’t pay it any attention.”

As if he was chatting with everyone, he talked a lot about Li Chengyuan’s childhood.

[Let me just say, knowing so many details, Xiao Yu is the real deal! Xia Xingchi is a green tea mistress!]

[Mr. Li said before that he and his lover knew each other when they were young. Xia Xingchi was still playing with mud in some backcountry back then, right?]

[This is true undying love! Xiao Yu actually wants to cook with his own hands, this is the first time I’ve seen Xiao Yu cooking!]

[Ah, this, shine a little light on your idol and he’s glorious. Just wait for a slap in the face]

[Laughing to death, a certain fool has already been slapped in the face. Are you still waiting for others to be slapped?]

[I think you guys have forgotten Mr. Li’s disgusted expression towards Xia Yu]

While Xia Yu was performing the tea ceremony, the three people sitting outside all looked at each other and clearly couldn’t bear to look directly at it.

Although they were unaware of the real and fake young masters, they knew very clearly who the real deal was. Yesterday Xia Yu had clearly realized the difficulty and toned it down, so why did he become so industrious again today?

Besides, was he talking nonsense, or did he really know so much about Li Chengyuan’s childhood? How did he know this?

Since no one wanted to come forward to be a green tea accomplice, they all pretended to be chatting and didn’t look at him.

Xia Yu had to complete a series of tasks including cooking porridge and lighting a fire by himself, which was miserable and toilsome. He seemed to be excluded by everyone but still only wanted to take care of his “fiance.” He was really a stubborn and unyielding white lotus.

– – –

Xia Xingchi woke up after going back to sleep once two hours or so had passed.

He’d actually slept a lot last night, because Li Chengyuan kept silent and didn’t bother anyone in the slightest, so Xia Xingchi had fallen asleep not long after leaning against him.

Xia Xingchi tiptoed out of his arms, intending to cook some porridge for him to drink when he woke up.

As he did so, he would make lunch for everyone. Otherwise, it was likely that the wisdom of the masses couldn’t exceed that of a mastermind, and lunch would be a big problem.

Unexpectedly, as soon as his feet touched the ground, the soundly-sleeping Li Chengyuan suddenly woke up. After realizing that his arms were empty, he sat up in a panic.

His blood sugar and blood pressure were low at this time, so when he got up so fast, his vision went black and he fell back immediately.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback by his corpse-like behavior, and quickly went to help him: “You have a good rest, I’ll make some porridge.”

Li Chengyuan closed his eyes for a moment. The black mist in front of his finally disappeared, and he ordered with a blank face: “Xia Xingchi, I told you not to leave.”

“Then you won’t eat?” Xia Xingchi simply had no way to deal with him, and said angrily, “It’s fine if you starve to death. Anyway, I have received ten months’ wages, and I’ll just go home.”

The two looked at each other for a moment, and suddenly heard a knock on the door: “Mr. Li, I made some porridge for you. Xingchi-ge, would you like to drink some too?”

So Xia Xingchi had no choice but to forfeit the staring contest with the rebellious big cat, and opened the door to see Xia Yu holding a large bowl of porridge in his hand.

His porridge was made of high-quality japonica rice, red dates, and lotus seeds. It looked quite delicate.

It was unlike the corn mush that could be obtained locally in the backcountry, which Xia Xingchi had fed to him like a cat abuser in the past two days.

Xia Xingchi blinked and gave pretty high marks to this exquisite porridge.

It seemed that the green tea really put a lot of effort into marrying into a wealthy family before, probably because he learned that Li Chengyuan had a bad stomach.

It just so happened that Li Chengyuan’s twisted desire for control didn’t allow him to go out and cook porridge. He didn’t care whether this green tea was brazenly seeking attention to fire up the CP discussion. In any case, he had exquisite cat food.

But before he took the porridge, the words “Li Shengrui” suddenly popped into Xia Xingchi’s mind.

As if intuitively sensing danger, he immediately withdrew his hand and changed his words to a refusal: “No need. Li Chengyuan won’t drink it, so take it away, ba.”

One didn’t need to look at the barrage to know it must have turned into a deep-fryer.

[What kind of a jerk is Xia Xingchi! He refused without asking Li Chengyuan? Xiao Yu’s hands were scalded just now by the porridge he slaved over!]

[Just now he said nicely in front of the camera that he wanted to cook porridge for Mr. Li, but in the end, he didn’t bother to cook it himself, so he didn’t allow Xiao Yu to bring it? What a malicious appearance]

[Your idol should be less impressed with himself, OK? Even if Mr. Li was here, he would only refuse with even more disgust (Li Cold-shoulder.GIF) He would say, “your hands are dirty,” understand?]

[Xia Yu is really losing more than he receives. 82-year Longjing – it’s old green tea. Can’t you tell that Mr. Li dislikes him so much?]

[Xia Yu has the financial resources to send food into the mountains, but that shit Xia Xingchi doesn’t. If you can’t take good care of Mr. Li, you aren’t good enough for Mr. Li!]

[So what? Anyway, Mr. Li likes Xingchi. Just asking, are you angry? I disagree with you upstairs, ah]

As soon as Xia Xingchi spoke, Xia Yu suddenly put on a tearful performance: 

“Xingchi-ge, I know we may have a misunderstanding……but can you stop being angry with me for the sake of Mr. Li’s health?”

“His blood sugar has been low, and he still hasn’t eaten, so he will definitely feel dizzy.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Xingchi really wanted to give this green tea two punches, bang bang, but of course he had to behave himself in front of the camera.

But Xia Yu, who was in league with Li Shengrui, was quite dangerous. Such a person might not break the law out of jealousy for the real young master, but he could definitely take risks for the inheritance of hundreds of billions.

Therefore, Xia Xingchi didn’t dare let Li Chengyuan eat such an unknown thing.

Just as he was about to grit his teeth and continue to refuse, making the storm of insults fall upon him more violently, he heard the closed door behind him open.

Li Chengyuan stood in front of the door wearing a coat, his pale and handsome face showing only indifference:

“Isn’t what Xia Xingchi said clear enough? I won’t drink it, take it away.”

“But Mr. Li, I just —”

Li Chengyuan said again calmly: “I only eat the food cooked by Xia Xingchi.”

Hearing this, Xia Xingchi immediately turned his head to stare, and secretly glared to remind him to restrain himself and save what little disguise he had left.

As soon as these words came out, people were completely confused, and for a while they couldn’t figure out what was true or false.

[Hahahaha this face-slapping reversal made me laugh so hard (Li Cold Shoulder.GIF)]

[Just asking, Xia Yu, does your face hurt? Braindead fans, do your faces hurt?]

[This melon stunned me too. Including the photos and various internal information, it is said that the real person is the young master of the Xia family, but Li Chengyuan’s attitude is more like Xia Xingchi is the real young master? What happened?]

[Could it be that Xia Xingchi is the young master Xia? If so, everything makes sense. Just a passer-by guessing]

[Are you crazy? The countryside vegetable-seller? I think he looks like a rentboy from a nightclub]

[You’re really in a hurry. What Xia Yu fans do best is clutching at straws and making personal attacks, so amazing]

. . . . . .

After the old green tea was driven away, Xia Xingchi closed the door and said angrily: “Dear Mr. Li, can you leave me some of my disguise? Why are you talking nonsense about only eating the food I cook!”

Li Chengyuan sat on the edge of the kang bed, took a sip of the freshly poured warm water from Xia Xingchi, and said nothing.

In fact, he spoke the truth. When he was a child, he was almost poisoned to death. Since then, he had been extremely vigilant against things of unknown origin.

He asked back: “Why didn’t you let him send it in?”

Xia Xingchi opened his mouth when he heard this, and thought that he couldn’t say, “I suspect that your future death will be caused by poisoning.”

Xia Yu was very strange today, as if he didn’t even have a minimum IQ. Xia Xingchi had to be more suspicious of him.

After organizing his words for a long time, Xia Xingchi finally spat out some nonsense: “I’m helping guard your chastity, lest your White Moonlight become jealous when they find out.”

“You’ll be jealous of Xia Yu?” Li Chengyuan naturally didn’t believe this excuse.

“I said, your White Moonlight!” Xia Xingchi said angrily. “Not me!”

Yesterday, because of his stomachache, Xia Xingchi didn’t lower himself to his level and followed along for the time being. But today, he once again said such annoying words.

Xia Xingchi stepped forward and snatched the glass from Li Chengyuan’s hand. He put it aside firmly, then fiercely pushed down someone who was frail and in poor health.

Of course, the main reason for being able to overcome Li Chengyuan was that he himself did not resist at all.

Not only did he not resist, but he also took advantage of the situation to pull Xia Xingchi down as well.

Li Chengyuan came to a conclusion calmly: “I think my White Moonlight is drinking his own vinegar.”

---

[1] This is likely referring to the poem, “Rainy Lane,”  (雨巷) by the Chinese poet Dai Wangshu in 1927. ⮐

[2] Dark cuisine is food made badly by an amateur or consisting of unusual combinations of ingredients. ⮐

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Chapter Thirty << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Two

Zhao Yelan was so busy these days that he hardly touched the ground. First, he put up notices reminding the common people to save water, store it properly, and stop waste. He also told them not to panic, and not to drive away refugees entering the city, but to guide them to shelter.

The charity house hadn’t been used for many years, so Zhao Yelan took the officers and soldiers from the government office to clean it up. Water was specially pulled from a mountain spring to be stored away, and many people were sent to investigate the water source.

Zhao Yelan sent Xiao Gao out again: “Kuang Sheng has slow legs, so he could only check the nearby area, but further away, someone still needs to investigate the situation. Go to Quzhou and Longzhou to have a look. If you find a disastrous situation, report it to the local government immediately. While you’re there, tell them not to reject refugees, but to settle them properly.”

A day later, Kuang Sheng returned with the nearest survey team. His complexion was dark, and his legs were still shaking when he sat down with a miserable expression: “The situation is not optimistic. The crops in the nearby area are all dry, and there are no people in the remote villages and towns. I don’t know where they went.”

“They will definitely move to a source of water.” Zhao Yelan found a detailed map of Huaizhou. “Tell me, how many are there?”

“Thirteen of the fourteen counties in Huaizhou are drought-stricken,” Kuang Sheng said. “The only one left is almost dry.”

Zhao Yelan frowned. The only remaining place would probably be flooded with refugees from the surrounding area, which may give rise to disputes.

It was obviously unrealistic for all of these refugees to squeeze into Huaizhou. For one, it would be too crowded, and the distance was also too long.

Fortunately, Yan Mingting left enough manpower for him.

“We must set up disaster relief sites as soon as possible.”

Yin Pinglu also rushed back exhaustedly at this moment. As soon as she entered the room, she poured half a pot of water and reported: “People in two counties have reported about the crops, but they were not taken seriously. I have already reprimanded those two county magistrates, and they expressed their willingness to face their crimes and make meritorious service by donating all of their belongings to cooperate with the disaster relief. The other counties promised to cooperate with my lord.”

“You have worked hard.” Zhao Yelan unfolded the map. “You are more familiar with Huaizou. Let’s see where it is most appropriate to set up disaster relief sites.”

Kuang Sheng divided five districts according to the distribution of rivers. On this basis, Yin Pinglu detailed the population and finally identified six disaster relief sites.

Zhao Yelan took half of the disaster funds and sent people to transport steamed buns and water to the six places respectively. He further expanded the scope to ensure that refugees could smoothly reach other places for refuge.

At night, many refugees suddenly poured in from outside the city. Zhao Yelan stood on the city wall and said: “Take these people to the charity house first and enter them into the register. Be sure not to miss any of them.”

The people in Huaizhou were quite obedient at first, but after seeing the refugees squeeze inside the next few days, they also started to become agitated. The living resources that once belonged to them were now taken away by these people. Who knew if the next drought would include Huaizhou? Then how would they save themselves?

“My lord, it’s not good, somebody threw something into the living quarters!”

Zhao Yelan had just returned from outside, and before he could catch his breath, he rushed to the charity house without stopping.

The sounds of commotion could be heard from a long distance away. The area was full of people, most of whom had come to watch the excitement, but this invisibly fueled the flames of the perpetrators.

It was originally a matter of a thrown egg, and the people around applauded it, but it gradually turned into throwing stones. The people inside also began to shout insults, and the two sides almost came to blows. The officers and soldiers guarding the door could barely control the scene.

“All of you, stop!” Zhao Yelan shouted. The soldiers behind him rushed in, and the people on both sides separated, but the cursing didn’t stop.

Just as Zhao Yelan walked to the door, a stone flew over and hit him on the forehead. Blood flowed down his eyebrows, contrasting against his pale face.

“My lord! Are you okay?” Yin Pinglu took a panicked step forward and hurriedly sent someone to find the doctor.

The crowd fell silent in an instant.

Zhao Yelan held his forehead, looked at the blood on his fingers, and sneered at once: “Very good, you are rather capable. First excluding foreigners, and then attacking court officials. You want to meet the king of hell earlier, is that right?”

The crowd was speechless, and after a long while, someone from the masses replied: “Zhao-daren, we didn’t mean to hit you.”

“Then stoning them was also unintentional?” Zhao Yelan said sternly, “Whoever made the first move, come out!”

Everyone was silent.

“Covering for each other, ba? Come, arrest them all!”

The crowd looked left and right in a panic, and at last someone stood forward: “A real man must bear the consequences of his own actions. I did it! Kill me or cut my flesh, it’s up to you!”

“Someone so big and strong thinks he can commit a crime.” Zhao Yelan covered his forehead with a handkerchief and stepped forward to look him up and down.

“My lord, don’t kill him, ah. His wife passed away, and there are only a few children left in the family. How can the children live like this, ah,” someone said.

“Yes, ah, he was just impulsive. My lord, just let him go, we will never cause trouble again in the future.”

Everyone said one sentence after another, helping to beg for mercy.

“Did I say I was going to kill him?” Although Zhao Yelan was furious, when it was a matter of life and death, it was easy to have extreme emotions. People should not be executed lightly, so as not to arouse the negative emotions of the masses. He asked, “Would you like to join the Self-Defense Force?”

The man was taken aback: “What is the Self-Defense Force?”

Just as Zhao Yelan was about to speak, he was struck by a headache and was unable to speak while pressing the wound. Yin Pinglu stepped forward and said for him: “In the past two days, Zhao-daren has been looking for ways to help everyone, and found a relatively remote water source. But the distance is a bit long, and it takes a day’s journey to go back and forth, so it is necessary to call up some manpower to carry the water. But it is not free labor, the government will pay these people double.”

“Is there really such a good thing?” When the people around heard this, they all cheered up. This was a great opportunity to make money.

Yin Pinglu: “Yes, those who want to go must come and register with me. Those who are strong and able to endure hardships and hard work will be given the priority.”

Yin Pinglu was soon surrounded by the crowd.

The purpose of the Self-Defense Force was actually to evacuate the population pressure in the city by sending the young and middle-aged people to the outside under the guise of transporting water. If all went well, they could really bring back some much-needed water.

Zhao Yelan was escorted back to the government office first. The doctor had already arrived, and while being bandaged, he looked at Gao Tan who had just rushed back: “There is no obvious drought in Longzhou or Quzhou?”

“Yes, they are close to the Yellow River, and the crops have not been affected,” Xiao Gao reported.

Zhao Yelan breathed a sigh of relief: “The evacuation of the refugees can begin.”

But there was still one problem – the money was running out. The disaster relief funds originally sent to Huaizhou only amounted to 38,000 taels. Adding the silver stored in the warehouse, the total was about 40,000 taels.

These days, the supplies at the six disaster relief sites, including the charity house, were almost exhausted. Now that they had added an additional expenditure for the Self-Defense Force, the money could barely last until the next day.

The height of the city lake had been reduced by half. The elegant boats on the lake in the past had been replaced by buckets, and all of the teahouses had been closed. The streets were so hot that everyone mostly stayed at home without going out, and only emerged at night to feel the wind.

And in the charity house, there were even more negative feelings, as if the group was waiting for death.

The disastrous situation was terrible, but the loss of spirit was also terrible. Therefore, Zhao Yelan wanted to cheer this group of people up.

Most of the people who went to join the Self-Defense Force were natives of Huaizhou, and those refugees could only try not to bother them.

Zhao Yelan made another announcement to the people in the charity house. The next meals would only be semi-finished products, and those who were willing to help cook would receive double the wages. The embroidery workshop was not yet closed, so those who were handy could apply to join, and those without skills would be given a certain amount of subsidies if they were willing to learn.

At this time, many women and children found work. The charity house had steamed buns to eat, a floor to sleep on, and they could go to the embroidery shop to learn crafts and earn some money. The negative emotions dissipated substantially. The shelter was no longer crowded with people, and the relationship between the refugees and the locals eased by a lot.

It was just a pity for Zhao Yelan’s wallet. All the money was taken from his private treasury.

He looked at the last banknote on his body with a broken heart.

Originally, all of that shining silver was for leisure and indulgence after leaving the Xuan Dynasty, and now this good thing was scattered across thousands of families.

All this because of Yan Mingting’s sentence, “There are tens of thousands of Mengtings waiting for our Mengting to rescue them.” Was it worth it?

He smiled to himself.

At this time, a little girl’s voice sounded at the door: “Zhao-daren, Zhao-daren!”

Going out curiously, he saw the guards at the door blocking the girl who wanted to rush in. It was the girl named Mengting. “Let her in,” he said.

Mengting was dressed in rags, but her face was bright. She ran up to him, touched the loose hair on her face, and asked: “Zhao-daren, have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet, what is it?” Zhao Yelan knelt down to look at her. “What do you want from me?”

“I was just passing by and thought that you seemed to live here.” Mengting took out a steamed bun from her bosom, held it in front of him, and said with a smile, “My mother made this at the charity house. I want to give it to you to eat.”

The steamed bun carried on the little girl’s body had been smothered, and the skin was stained by the little girls’ fingerprints. Zhao Yelan accepted it and took a bite, saying: “Delicious. Your mother’s cooking skills are good, but why did you want to give it to me?”

“Because you gave us steamed buns last time! We ate your steamed buns along the way, so we didn’t starve to death.” Mengting’s skin was a little tanned, but her teeth were exceptionally white and her smile was bright. “And my mother said you are a very good person, so I didn’t want you to be hungry.”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyebrows in surprise: “I am a good person?”

“That’s right, everyone says so, they say you’re better than the original Yin……Yin whatever. My lord is much better. If it weren’t for you, the rest of us would have starved to death. I’ll go to work with my mother in the embroidery workshop later. I think embroidery is much more fun than growing crops. When I learn this in the future, I will sew you an outfit, okay?”

Zhao Yelan took another bite of the steamed bun and his eyebrows curved: “Okay, ah.”

Mengting paused for a moment, then suddenly said: “Then when I grow up, can I marry you?”

Zhao Yelan was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed out loud: “This isn’t possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because……” Zhao Yelan thought for a moment. Regardless of whether the other party understood or not, he said, “I’m already married.”

“Ah, what a pity!” Mengting pouted.

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth curled up, and he divided the steamed bun into halves, returning the untouched half to her: “I’m full, this is for you. Eat a little more so that you can grow up quickly. I’m waiting for your new clothes.”

“Okay!” Mengting took it and opened her mouth to take a big bite, and when she looked at him, she smiled again with squinting eyes.

Zhao Yelan sent her to the gate of the government office: “Go and find your mother.”

“En, goodbye, Zhao-daren!”

Zhao Yelan stood at the door and watched her leave. People passing by all around would automatically call: “Zhao-daren.”

“Zhao-daren, have you eaten yet?”

“Zhao-daren, will the Self-Defense Force come back? Nothing will happen to my stinky man, will it?”

“Zhao-daren seems to have lost weight, would you like to come to my house for a meal?”

The weather was hot. Zhao Yelan wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling his chest grow inexplicably warmer. Smiling, he looked at these people coming and going and thought: It’s worth it.

Inexplicably, he missed Yan Mingting very much.

He wanted to talk with him about the current situation, chat about everything that had happened these days, tell him everything in detail.

In the afternoon, Li Yucheng brought good news that his uncle was willing to provide five thousand taels for disaster relief.

“Only your uncle? What about the other merchants?”

“Just convincing my uncle has already exhausted all of my skills. I really can’t say anything to the others. After all, those people see me as a wastrel and don’t listen to my advice at all.”

“That’s reasonable.”

“…….”

“I’ll go meet with them for a while.” Zhao Yelan told him to gather all of them in the chamber of commerce.

The merchants sat in the hall and could guess with their toes what was going on. One of them couldn’t help being a little indignant: “These officials usually look down on us businessmen the most. Asking them to do anything is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, they send us straight to the bottom and then come to bleed us dry when something happens. I’ve had enough of this nonsense!”

The others were also stirred up and decided to present a united front. They would not be persuaded even in the face of death.

It was difficult for Cheng Ying to speak with them. After all, his brother-in-law was the Prime Minister, and he had already agreed to donate five thousand taels.

After a while, Zhao Yelan answered and had to make some perfunctory remarks:

“It is a pleasure to meet you at last. You are all well-known Confucian businessmen in Jiangnan and seeing you today, you really deserve your reputation.”

“Zhao-daren, there is no need for these polite words. Just tell us what you want from us,” the speaker coldly scoffed.

“All right, I will just say it straight. I hope the chamber of commerce can donate a little silver or supplies.”

“We refuse.”

Zhao Yelan smiled: “I haven’t mentioned the conditions yet.”

“What conditions could you have?” The speaker asked disdainfully.

“Everyone here is involved in many industries, and there must be embroidery workshops among them. The weaving skills in Jiangnan need not be spoken of, but it is a pity that everything is sent directly to the palace. The people in the capital can only hear of it, but never see or wear it. And the silk from the Western Regions is also unique. After business contacts were made, the common people have also come to love buying cloth from the Western Regions. On the other hand, your Jiangnan goods can only be circulated in Jiangnan and the south, which is really a pity,” Zhao Yelan said.

Li Yucheng echoed: “That’s right, think about it, how many dignitaries are there in the capital? If you sell them in Beijing, you can earn a lot.”

These words hit the weak point of this group of businessmen, and the leader said: “We also want to sell in the capital, but in order to save the face of the royal family, the Imperial court only allows us to sell to the palace, and not to the common people at all, ah.”

This was an old rule left by the former Emperor. In order to show the superior status of the harem ladies, clothing from Jiangnan was only allowed to be sent to the palace. After Zhao Xuan ascended the throne, there were not many concubines in the palace and this omission was not noticed at all.

“Sooner or later, the whole country will know about the drought. If you all unite as one and show your kindness by helping the common people through these difficulties, I can also intercede with the Emperor on your behalf and allow you to distribute your goods in the northern market.”

“Just by opening your mouth, the Emperor will agree?”

“If the Emperor agrees, you can make a lot of profit in the future. After all, these goods were originally for the Imperial concubines, and if they are on the market, people will rush to buy them. If the Emperor does not agree, your situation will remain the same and you will not experience a loss. The donated money can be considered to be paying for your own lives. When the people are evacuated, you will be sent away first. Can you just sit back and relax? It’s better to earn a good reputation now, and have better standing and business opportunities in the future.”

Everyone exchanged glances, slightly tempted, and didn’t resist as fiercely as they did in the beginning.

Zhao Yelan gave Li Yucheng a meaningful look, and Li Yucheng immediately said: “To tell you the truth, I came to Jiangnan this time to learn from you, and I plan to start a small business after returning to the capital. Why don’t you cooperate with me, and I will send someone to Jiangnan to transport your goods, such as tea, porcelain, cloth, rice, medicinal materials and such. You won’t have to worry about losses on the road, or about slow sales. You can give me a thirty percent higher price, and the only requirement is that for three years, you can’t find someone else in the capital to work with.”

“Thirty percent higher? Then how do you plan to sell it?”

“I have my own ways,” Li Yucheng said. “After all, none of you know the capital better than me. If it sells well, I will order more. Even if it is unsalable, I will never trouble you.”

Just when everyone was weighing the pros and cons, Zhao Yelan took out the roster and said: “The Cheng family donated 4,000 taels. When I return to Beijing, I will be the first to report your kindness to the Emperor. At that time, the Emperor will allow silk to be distributed in the market, and you will be the only one allowed to do so.”

How could a family do it alone!?

This really stabbed everyone in the lungs. They would rather hurt themselves to damage the enemy, and never wanted one to come out on top. In an instant, everyone expressed their willingness to donate four thousand taels.

Cheng Ying’s eyes moved, settling on Zhao Yelan, and he suddenly understood why Zhao Yelan only said that he had donated four thousand and said: “Then I will give five thousand.”

Zhao Yelan sent him a gratified look, but the others were anxious.

“I’ll pay five thousand and five!”

“Six thousand from me!”

In the end, the leader was heartless: “I’ll pay eight thousand.”

The others: “…….” You traitor.

“I’ll also pay eight thousand!”

“Count me in!”

“I’ll go eight thousand and eight!”

“Hiss —”

Seeing that the speculation was getting higher and higher, Zhao Yelan smiled slightly: “Let’s do this, ba. For the sake of fairness, let’s unify at eight thousand taels, and then I will give an account of your loyalty to the Emperor and strive for your best interests.”

“Zhao-daren, please don’t slip up, ah, everything depends on you.”

“Naturally. I wouldn’t dare say this if I wasn’t sure. Everyone go back early, I will send people to collect the silver after dark and inform the common people of your donations,” Zhao Yelan said.

Everyone was really hurting, yet at the same time saying words of gratitude.

Cheng Ying stayed when they all departed in the end, sighing to Li Yucheng: “I agreed to five thousand, but in the blink of an eye, three thousand more was taken away.”

“Uncle, calm down.” Li Yucheng squeezed his shoulder and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, I will return it to you when I earn it back.”

“You? Do you think it’s so easy to make money?”

Li Yucheng gave a secretive smile: “Don’t forget, they have already signed an agreement with me, and all the goods in the capital will be handed over to me for distribution. As soon as the Emperor agrees to Zhao Yelan’s conditions, the silk will be sold by me first, and a steady stream of money will come rushing in.”

“But will this group of people agree?”

“I can give them a small profit, but not too much. Anyway, I can already make a lot of money for them, and it is a profitable business. If they want more, there is no way, and we have a contract to prove it. And we only set it up for three years, so if they want to go to the capital to do business by themselves, that’s no problem, ah.” Li Yucheng chuckled. “It’s just that Jiangnan silk will no longer be a rare commodity at that time.”

Cheng Ying came to a sudden realization: “Boy, you are really a schemer, ah.”

“I’m just a little clever. The real schemer is someone else.”

“You mean……” Cheng Ying asked in a low voice, “Zhao-daren?”

“It’s all his idea, I’m at most the second shopkeeper. We will be working together in the future,” Li Yucheng said proudly. “But to be the second shopkeeper, I feel that I am very rich, and there will be many better days in the future.”

As a merchant, Cheng Ying couldn’t help but admire Zhao Yelan’s business acumen, and he suddenly realized another thing: “If the market in the capital is really opened up, then the demand will increase, and the original embroiderers may not be enough……”

“So now he pays out of his own pocket to let these troubled women and children go to the embroidery workshop to learn skills, which not only alleviates the current predicament, but also prepares for future business.” Li Yucheng gave a sincere thumbs up. “Check out this foresight……”

Dumbfounded, Cheng Ying patted him heavily on the shoulder: “Uncle has nothing to teach you. You’d better go with Zhao-daren, and there will be many better days in the future.”

In the evening, the doctor came to treat Zhao Yelan’s wound. It had scabbed over and there was no need to wrap it with gauze.

Zhao Yelan counted the 80,000 taels of relief money raised and then called Yin Pinglu, Kuang Sheng, and the head official to discuss the route to evacuate the refugees to Quzhou and Longzhou, as well as how to keep enough dry food and water on the way.

The handful of people sat around and discussed for a while, and Xiao Gao suddenly ran in excitedly: “My lord, my lord! The General is back!”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then raised their heads and looked toward the door.

“There are a lot of people here, escorting the disaster money and supplies from the court!” Xiao Gao said enthusiastically.

Everyone got up in surprise to greet them. Zhao Yelan’s footsteps were hurried, and he didn’t even have time to put down the brush in his hand. When he was approaching the gate, he thought of something and suddenly turned around and ran back into the back courtyard.

While everyone was wondering, Yan Mingting took a few steps into the gate and inspected the circle of people. After dealing with everyone’s greetings, he asked: “Where are the others?”

“My lord seems to have gone back to his room.”

Yan Mingting asked the head official to go outside and pick up the team, as well as the new magistrate of Pi county, and then walked quickly to the back courtyard.

Yin Pinglu saw that her help was not needed outside, and worriedly followed to check on the situation.

As soon as she arrived in the courtyard, she unexpectedly saw Yan Mingting knocking on the door: “I’m back, why won’t you come out to see me? Mengting, Mengting! I’ll count to three, and if you don’t come out, I’ll smash the door, ah.”

“If you dare to smash the door, I will smash you,” said the person inside.

“Then you come out, ah. Why don’t you want to see me? Have you broken your promise? Are you seeing another man?

His words became more outrageous the more he said. Yin Pinglu stepped forward and pulled Yan Mingting back, telling the truth in one sentence: “My lord is disfigured and doesn’t want you to see him.”

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Chapter Sixty-One <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixty-Three

The moment Xia Xingchi slipped into Li Chengyuan’s arms, a loud bang sounded, as if the whole earth was trembling.

But in fact, it was only Xia Xinchi who was trembling all over. He held his breath and grasped the only object nearby even harder, buried in the familiar warm embrace like a confused and panicked little animal.

This was the first thunderstorm he had experienced in this world. If he was in Li Chengyuan’s villa at the moment, he might not be so afraid.

But here there were deep, barren mountains, a dilapidated old bungalow, and an unfamiliar environment.

The only familiar thing was the person he was hugging tightly. The fear of death was completely beyond reason, entirely a product of biological instinct, which caused Xia Xingchi to burrow crazily into Li Chengyuan’s arms.

“What’s wrong?” Li Chengyuan immediately hugged him in his arms and gently stroked his head.

He was a little dazed at first, not having expected Xia Xingchi to suddenly burst into the room and take the initiative to embrace him tightly.

Now, Xia Xingchi whispered intermittently as if sobbing: “Li Chengyuan……I’m going to be struck to death. I, I’m scared……my head will split……it hurts……”

The words were incoherent, and it took a long time for Li Chengyuan to realize that he was afraid of thunder.

“Don’t be afraid.” Li Chengyuan covered his ears and coaxed him in a low voice: “I’m holding you, you won’t be hit.”

He repeated this in a whisper many times, and Xia Xingchi’s tense body finally relaxed after tireless comforting.

The thunderstorm didn’t last long before it gradually died down, and Li Chengyuan slowly let go of his ears.

Xia Xingchi had already fallen asleep leaning into Li Chengyuan’s embrace. His arms were still wrapped around the other’s waist, and even his fingers were still clenched tightly into his pajamas.

Li Chengyuan could feel his uneasiness, so he didn’t forcibly pry him from his body, and simply let him cling like this. He even actively adjusted his posture to hug him tighter.

Xia Xingchi finally relaxed all the way. He hummed comfortably twice as the night rain faded outside the window, then murmured Li Chengyuan’s name in a daze.

Li Chengyuan could only brush the tip of his nose with his knuckles, and found that the corners of his eyes were moist from the tears that had flowed down in his panic.

There were so many men and women who had racked their brains over the years to find a chance like this to leap into his arms. He would obviously suspect them of trying to seduce him if someone else tried it. After all, it was unheard of to be afraid of thunder to this extent.

But it was different if the person was Xia Xingchi. Li Chengyuan only felt ecstatic, as if a big surprise had fallen from the sky……he even felt a hint of gratitude toward the thunderstorm.

If not for this little hedgehog who was afraid of thunder, he might even hope for a few more such thunderstorms tomorrow night.

– – –

Early the next morning, Li Chengyuan, who always got up early, made the rare decision to lie in bed instead of getting up to get ready.

Because after waking up, he found that Xia Xingchi was still hugging him without letting go. Although he usually hugged him like this, it wasn’t as tightly as today, like a sticky red bean bun that wouldn’t release him.

Li Chengyuan didn’t want to wake him up, so he just lay motionless in bed and habitually stared at his features.

After a long while, he gently touched his arm with his fingertips and brushed against the expected crescent-shaped scar.

Xia Xingchi felt a little ticklish from those cold fingertips, and called “Summer” indiscriminately. After a while, perhaps sensing that this was a human and not a cat, he muttered again, “Li Chengyuan.”

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips and raised his hand expressionlessly to give his cheek a light poke, like a big cat playing with a ball of wool.

Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but hum irritably a few times, trying his best to get into the arms of the person beside him and away from the cold and malicious fingers.

“Li Chengyuan……” Xia Xingchi lay in his arms and murmured dreamily, “Don’t die, okay.”

This wasn’t the first time he had said such a thing. It was clear that it wasn’t just a nightmare, but seemed instead like something he really thought could happen.

Before Li Chengyuan could think further, he heard a voice suddenly come from outside the door:

“Is Mr. Li awake? Here we come!”

Yesterday, the program team was worried that the couple were engaged in activities between lovers, but since they split rooms, they didn’t have to worry so much today.

What’s more, the audience left messages one after another, asking them if they could stop giving warning and just directly attack.

If they treated Li Chengyuan like they did the other guests, they might be able to see a more lively side of the male god.

How dare the program team push the door straight open and directly enter. At most, they would push the door open after calling out, and try to walk a tightrope to satisfy both parties.

Xia Xingchi opened his eyes in a daze: “Li —”

The moment the wooden door opened, Li Chengyuan reached out and wrapped Xia Xingchi tightly in a blanket!

But when he tried to get up to block the camera like yesterday, he found himself hugged tightly by a little hedgehog of unknown condition who refused to let go.

It was too late to grab him, and the cameras of the photography team had already followed along inside.

[Ah ah ah this is the first time we’ve seen Mr. Li in only pajamas! These collarbones, this deep V! So perfect, nice, nice]

[Sure enough, a male god doesn’t need to dress up to be a male god. Designer pajamas! Make money!]

[In fact, it’s okay to not wear pajamas, hehehehe…..]

[Wait a minute, is there someone else on the bed?]

[I see it too! I think there really is another person in the bed, and by the posture, they seem to be hugging Mr. Li’s waist. That’s why he didn’t sit up completely]

The program team was taken aback for a moment. Netizens may not be able to see clearly through the lens, but they witnessed it with their own eyes and could clearly see Xia Xingchi trying to turn over beneath the blanket.

It never occurred to them that last night it wasn’t that the couple had a disagreement and wanted to sleep in separate rooms. This was obviously enjoying the fun of having a secret affair, ah!

Xia Xingchi stared in bewilderment. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was wrapped up in a blanket and couldn’t move. He couldn’t figure out what happened at all, and was so sleepy and rebellious that he insisted on breaking free.

Li Chengyuan had no choice but to hold his head with his hand to keep him from moving, and the two competed silently under the cover of the blanket.

“Go out,” Li Chengyuan said to the program team with a frown.

Only then did the team recover from the shock of the “playing” between husband and wife, and hurriedly pick up the camera for a quick evacuation.

Before they had time to step back, they suddenly heard a roar from the bed that didn’t sound fully awake:

“Li Chengyuan! How can I get out if you hold my head, ah! Release your claws quickly!”

Program group: ! ! !

Li Chengyuan: ……

Li Chengyuan never expected that someone would drop the ball at a critical moment, and suddenly let go of his head. Xia Xingchi then struggled to get out of bed, and rushed at him like a hungry tiger!

The moment he successfully pounced on Li Chengyuan, Xia Xingchi realized something was wrong and turned around to see the stunned program team standing aside.

Xia Xingchi: ? ! !

[Hahahahahahahaha! I don’t know what to say other than screaming]

[Is this something I can watch for free?! Pounce, baby Xingchi is so proactive! Boss Li, fry him up! ! !]

[I’m shocked. Didn’t they sleep in separate rooms yesterday? Why did they go to the same bed in the middle of the night?]

[Yuanchi CP is real! Sure enough, the early bird gets the worm! We can actually see this scene hehehe]

[Impossible! This must be a misunderstanding, isn’t Mr. Li Xiao Yu’s fiance? Why did Xia Xingchi come to climb into bed!]

[Dear, have you never thought that Mr. Li and Xia Yu have nothing to do with each other?]

[No way! It doesn’t matter how many photos were released in one day yesterday?!]

[Purely a passer-by, I just want to ask why they slept together again? Wasn’t there a room split last night?]

[Yes, ah! This is where the problem lies! Even if they have separate rooms, they had to sleep together, Yuanchi CP is real! A clingy young couple who don’t want to be temporarily separated hehehe]

The two sides fought again as they chatted, and the camera had already been covered by the cameraman’s hands.

There was no need to go to Xia Xingchi’s room, and the workers received the “benefits” of taking a few steps less and the risk of being assassinated by the young master Xia who had just caused a rollover crash.

Until everyone left, Xia Xingchi still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.

He didn’t even get off Li Chengyuan’s body immediately, but lay on top of him in disbelief, saying with patronizing indignation and despair: “Li Chengyuan! Why did you come to my room!”

A black pot fell from the sky, and Li Chengyuan asked helplessly: “Whose room?”

Taken aback for a moment, Xia Xingchi looked around. After a moment, his consciousness gradually returned.

The moment thunder sounded last night, he completely lost his mind and fell to pieces. Now he vaguely remembered Li Chengyuan holding him in his arms and gently comforting him.

Thinking about yesterday’s sudden storm, Xia Xingchi couldn’t believe what had happened to him.

He never thought that the pain of death could actually bring a deep, indelible physiological terror to the mind.

Even before, he hadn’t liked thunderstorms. Although he wasn’t frightened to the point of madness at the time, he always felt flustered whenever thunder sounded.

It was as if something bad was about to happen, or was happening, just waiting for him.

“Do you remember?” Li Chengyuan asked lightly.

Xia Xingchi blushed and slowly crawled off him, retracting into the bed like a little turtle and wrapping himself tightly.

But after all, he and Li Chengyuan were in the same bed. Li Chengyuan lightly pressed his head with one hand and smiled faintly.

Obviously, Li Chengyuan’s tricks could not be blamed for overturning the car this time.

Even when the drowsy Xia Xingchi tried to get out of bed, he had taken the initiative to hold his head down to keep him from moving, trying to protect his persona.

– – –

When Xia Xingchi had no choice but to appear with a blush in front of the camera, he found that Li Xiu and Han Yuanhe had actually gotten up earlier than him.

Both of them sat at the table while drinking water exhaustedly, as if they had gone to steal chickens from the neighboring village in the middle of the night. Although their clothes were dry, their hair was damp and frizzy.

“What happened to you?” Xia Xingchi asked doubtfully. “Did you not sleep all night?”

Li Xiu took another trembling sip of hot water, waved his hand in misery, and said: “God, the useless life experience has increased.”

Xia Xingchi: ?

Han Yuanhe promptly freaked out and said: “I know the house leaks air, but I didn’t think it would leak rain! I know what it means to say, ‘The roof leaks when it rains, and there is no dry place in the house, the water trails down like twine!’”^[1]

At first, the two had been sleeping soundly. In the middle of the night, Li Xiu first felt water falling on his face and shoved Han Yuanhe, asking him if he felt it.

Han Yuanhe didn’t bother to open his eyes, and said faintly, “No, ba.” But before the word “ba” could be spoken, he was suddenly slapped in the face by a bucket of water.

The roof was uneven, and the low-lying water finally leaked through. First, a large jet of water hit Han Yuanhe’s face, and then the entire roof began to seep everywhere and Li Xiu also got a headful of water.

This time, the two of them couldn’t sleep any longer. They got up shivering in the middle of the night to find clothes, picked up their luggage, and left the room to squat for half the night in this small broken house where the farm tools were piled up and the door was not even secured.

Xia Xingchi couldn’t help feeling very sympathetic after hearing of their tragic experience.

At the same time, he had a flash of inspiration, and calmly said in front of the camera:

“Coincidentally, my roof leaked too……fortunately, Mr. Li was next door, so I had to squeeze in with him in the middle of the night.”

The two of them had no doubts. After all, the rooms allocated to this handful of people were similar, and the possibility of rain leakage was high, so it just depended on who was more unlucky.

Xia Xingchi heaved a sigh of relief. He had finally recovered his persona that had almost been stripped clean, and strived to hold out for one more day so that Li Chengyuan’s crazy girlfriend fans would have enough buffer time.

At exactly this time, Li Chengyuan came back from making a phone call for work, and smiled slightly after hearing this sentence. He didn’t expose Xia Xingchi’s little lie. In any case, it was only a matter of time.

Today the task was rather in keeping with the times, and turned out to be patching the roof.

Not only had his and Han Yuanhe’s rooms leaked, but who would have thought that Xia Yu’s room had leaked too. 

The big teapot turned into a drowned teapot, and came over similarly wet and tired. Today was a rare day where he didn’t cause trouble.

Xia Xingchi was helping to carry the repair materials while pondering why he didn’t see the usual tea ceremony session today.

Shouldn’t a green tea spirit be getting more and more courageous?

It must be that Xia Yu realized he was putting on a lively performance after watching Weibo last night, while at the same time Li Chengyuan was also quietly showing affection. The comparison between the two seemed ridiculous.

Xia Xingchi thought about it as he began to mix the mortar proficiently. At any rate, he had been a cement worker for several months, and would show off his skills in a while.

Before Li Xiu heard that he was going to repair the roof by himself, he was in complete despair.

This was not as good a job as setting the table. Please, god, let it stop raining. He didn’t know just what proportion of mortar to mix. He might not only be unable to repair it, but might also have to get his head drenched in half-dried cement rain in the middle of the night.

Seeing Xia Xingchi at this time, he felt as if he had seen his savior. He squatted to the side and looked at him expectantly, admiring the “man who mastered various skills.”

Although Xia Yu didn’t continue to approach Li Chengyuan, the green tea spirit was alive and well as he stood aside like a young master and merely watched.

He also gave strange praise: “Xingchi-ge is really amazing, he must have rich professional experience!”

For the fans, Xia Xingchi’s background may be the only thing that could be repeatedly ridiculed.

After all, in their eyes, Xia Yu was the “only young master of the Xia family,” and Xia Xingchi was just a poor waste from the countryside. In contrast, there was quite a sense of superiority.

“Watch closely.” Xia Xingchi raised his head with an impolite sneer. “You are permitted to be my apprentice, after all, you will have to repair your section of roof yourself later.”

Xia Yu promptly widened his eyes innocently: “What? Xingchi-ge, won’t you help —”

“You can learn, come on.” Xia Xingchi smiled.

Although it was fun to see the green tea spirit admit defeat, Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

Yesterday’s ideas were broken by thunder, and now he continued to think. If the person in the photos really was Li Shengrui, it was obvious that the protagonist’s plot had been greatly advanced.

If he remembered correctly, not long after the villain and the protagonist got together, the big villain boss died of illness without warning.

Through this period of observation, Xia Xingchi gradually felt that although Li Chengyuan’s physical condition was poor, he was far from dying of illness. After much deliberation, he couldn’t help coming to a terrifying conjecture —

Could he have been murdered?

Although the original novel was very strange, it must be written within legal norms, after all. Naturally, the murderer couldn’t be the protagonist who got a happy ending.

Therefore, the original text only vaguely mentioned that the villain died suddenly of illness. Could his frailty and sickness have been used to forcibly cover up the discordant illegal plot?

Thinking of this possibility, Xia Xingchi, who lived in a civilized society ruled by law, couldn’t help feeling horrified. A murderer hiding a knife in a smile was definitely more terrifying than an outright crazy villain.

In the end, Xia Yu was just a green tea spirit with despicable methods and distorted views, but the protagonist gong Li Shengrui was different. He was a vicious character who dared to do anything.

It stood to reason that Li Chengyuan was not the “First Young Master” originally, born with a golden spoon in his mouth since he was a child, the sole heir of a wealthy family and an upright young master.

He had unexpectedly witnessed his mother’s suicide when he was seven years old, and immediately afterward, such a cheap illegitimate brother and vicious stepmother appeared out of nowhere in less than three days. At that time, his mother’s funeral wasn’t even finished.

The book didn’t describe what kind of devastation he suffered at that time. There was only a blurb that mentioned how his character had become completely distorted and maddened once his mother died, and he later became a complete villain.

To be so cruel to a frail and sickly child, to cause the victim to become so twisted and crazy, and to beat him down as a villain, the three views of the original text’s strange theme were beyond comprehension —

The protagonist gong and shou consisted of two people: a vicious fake young master who had taken over the magpie’s nest and a despicable illegitimate son who successfully attained a high position. The theme was “Resisting the fate of the original sin.”^[2]

To put it bluntly, it was wicked and self-righteous. Even if someone else’s life was snatched, this was called “my fate is up to me,” and the inspirational message showed that if you want something, you can fight for it.

Thinking of this, Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but feel sorry for his big kitty cat.

His original fear of the crazy villain had almost completely vanished over time, and moreover, Li Chengyuan was different from the beginning.

He wasn’t crazy, reckless, and violent, but more and more agreeable.

After Xia Xingchi mixed the mortar, he went to step on the ladder to climb onto the roof, but Han Yuanhe and Li Xiu stopped him, saying that they should not bother him with such a dangerous job and that they would do it instead.

Xia Xingchi could feel everyone’s kindness, so he didn’t push back much. His eyes curved as he expressed that he would go back first and prepare a meal for everyone.

He wanted to see if the green tea spirit would be going to sleep in the rain again, or if he would lower his noble figure to try to plaster the mortar, but when he turned around, he didn’t see anyone.

Today he was well-behaved to a shocking degree. This was a good thing, but Xia Xingchi’s right eyelid kept twitching as he worried that he was holding back some sort of evil intentions.

– – –

Xia Yu stealthily confirmed that there was no one around before whispering into the phone: “It’s too dangerous, I can’t do it.”

On the other side of the phone, Li Shengrui said softly but firmly: 

“When he and Xia Xingchi receive the marriage certificate, we’ll have nothing. Xiao Yu, you know how ruthless he is. He won’t let me off.”

“This is a rare opportunity. He has been attacked before, so he is extremely vigilant. We won’t have the chance to try again after this.”

“He’s already in poor health, and it would be normal for him to become ill in such a harsh environment.”

Xia Yu frowned. A shrewd and calculating look flashed through his eyes, but his deceitful mouth was innocent: “But I’m afraid……A-Rui, I dreamt last night that you didn’t like me anymore, that you no longer wanted me.”

They were both clever people, and Li Shengrui naturally knew what he meant, so he smiled and said: “It will be okay, you still have the recording, right? We will get married after you return to Beijing, and we’ll share the inheritance.”

Xia Yu’s expression went cold, and he looked at the recording interface on the screen.

“Xiao Yu, Xia Xingchi will take everything from you soon. With Li Chengyuan here, he has already become popular. He will retaliate against you and let everyone know your identity.”

“But why should they have everything while we are said to be born out of sin?”

“Xiao Yu……”

These words clearly pierced Xia Yu’s heart. He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice after a while: “Happy cooperation. Wait till I get the stuff tomorrow, and I’ll look for a chance.”

– – –

The weather was clear in the afternoon, but it rained heavily in the evening.

When Han Yuanhe finally mastered the skill of plastering mortar and was eager to reinforce Xia Xingchi’s roof, Xia Xingchi said that there was no need to work during dinnertime, and that if it rained, he would go to Mr. Li’s place to make do for the night.

This was in case he was frightened by the thunder and got into Li Chengyuan’s bed again. There was really no other excuse if another accident happened, so the roof could not be repaired.

The rain was loud outside the window when Xia Xingchi snuck into the room with his pillow in his arms.

At this time, Li Chengyuan was taking stomach medicine with a pale face and holding a half glass of water.

Only then did Xia Xingchi remember Uncle Ding mentioning that Li Chengyuan was prone to stomach pains when it was rainy and cold.

He had come yesterday because he was afraid, and didn’t pay attention to whether he was uncomfortable or not.

No wonder he didn’t eat much today. It was probably because he wasn’t feeling well.

He likely wasn’t putting on an act this time. If Xia Xingchi didn’t find out, he would just take the medicine here in silence.

Spotting Xia Xingchi’s wide, round eyes peering in, Li Chengyuan dropped the hand resting on his stomach and said with expressionless indifference: “Go out. You won’t sleep well in the same room as me.”

Xia Xingchi hummed, thinking that this person was really vengeful. He was reminded of the issue of sleeping in separate rooms last night.

But in order to get into the arms of a reliable big pillow to escape the thunder, he had no choice but to coax with a smile: “Boss, do you have an upset stomach? I’m a professional masseuse, would you like the chance to experience it for free?”

“It’s so cold, but my hands are super warm! And I can warm the bed!”

Under such enthusiastic self-recommendation, Li Chengyuan finally smiled helplessly, and his unbearable stomach cramps eased a little according to his mood.

Seeing his acquiescence, Xia Xingchi jumped up happily while hugging the pillow, and quickly got into bed for fear that the other would suddenly change his mind.

As soon as the two of them turned off the lights and lay down, Li Chengyuan felt that the person beside him was silently getting closer and closer. Then a hand was blindly inserted into his clothes, and fumbled around in the dark.

Li Chengyuan’s whole body immediately froze. The soft, warm touch rushed straight to the top of his head, and then filled his limbs and bones.

He quickly squeezed Xia Xingchi’s wrist, and said in a low voice: “What are you doing?”

“I’m giving you a massage, ah.” Xia Xingchi was baffled, and couldn’t help feeling distressed: “Your lips are turning white from the pain, why are you still acting like nothing is wrong? Boss, ah, you have to tell me, and I will rub your stomach anytime.”

After speaking, he continued to grope Li Chengyuan’s abdomen in the dark, rubbing it gently.

The little money-grubber was truly a jack-of-all-trades. His massage technique was rather good, and the stomach that he been hurting for almost a day and night was indeed much more comfortable.

But with such relief, that unspeakable fervent yearning became even clearer.

Li Chengyuan frowned. Calling a stop to it now would be suspicious, so he had to change the topic to avert his attention: “Why are you afraid of thunder?”

He knew that Xia Xingchi was not like this before.

Xia Xingchi blinked in the darkness, thinking that he couldn’t say that he was struck to death by lightning, right? Telling such a scary ghost story at night could easily frighten his fragile benefactor.

He calmly lied: “Why? It’s just a natural fear, like people who fear dogs or mice.”

Li Chengyuan smiled coldly. Knowing that he was lying, he didn’t expose him, but just said in a low voice: “I don’t like thunderstorms either.”

The big villain seldom chatted, let alone used words like “like” or “dislike,” and it was as if he was indifferent to everything and had no preferences.

Xia Xingchi pricked up his ears curiously and asked: “Why?”

This question did not receive an answer for so long that Xia Xingchi suspected it would never come. Then Li Chengyuan said calmly: 

“Because it’s easy to get sick.”

He wasn’t talking about the stomach pain. It was a coincidence that the two outbreaks occurred in such weather.

The first time, he watched powerlessly as his mother hanged herself in the dark.

Apart from his helpless wide eyes, he couldn’t make a sound or move his entire body. Accompanied by thunder, lightning flashed across the room, illuminating his mother’s distorted and hideous face after her death.

With the rainstorm as the only background sound, her head hung from above, looking down at him. The young Li Chengyuan and his mother, who had become strange and terrifying, stared at each other for a whole night.

The second time, he watched a little liar disappear irretrievably into a rainstorm.

Even though he made a vow for a lifetime, even though he left behind a fake train ticket to nowhere that was said to be “very important,” he never came back.

Li Chengyuan nearly died after being abandoned by the little liar, and when he woke up, he searched for him for more than ten years.

Everyone said that he had a mental problem, that he invented a little boy who didn’t exist out of thin air, and used this as an excuse to force him to take an unknown amount of messy drugs.

Xia Xingchi blinked his heavy eyelids. Li Chengyuan didn’t speak for a long time, and he gradually began to feel sleepy.

But he faintly sensed that Li Chengyuan seemed to be in a bad mood, so he really wanted to spend more time chatting with his big kitty cat.

Trying his best, Xia Xingchi said semi-consciously: 

“I never liked it. Every time the weather is like this……I always feel as if there is something very urgent for me to do. There may be a very important person.”

“I have to go, someone is waiting for me in the rain……”

Li Chengyuan was stunned for a moment upon hearing these words, and then sat up abruptly: “What did you say!”

---

[1] These lines are taken from Du Fu’s poem, “The Thatched House Is Broken by the Autumn Wind.” ⮐

[2] The “original sin” here is being born out of wedlock. ⮐

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Chapter Twenty-Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-One