Chapter 78
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This statement successfully froze Chu Hechao in his tracks.
For a moment, Chu Hechao almost thought he had misheard. He quickly turned his head and looked at Yuan Li, asking, “What did you say?”
Yuan Li’s body was partially hidden in the shadows. He moved his hands and said again, “What if I didn’t feel forced?”
Chu Hechao stood in place, his breath caught in his throat.
His feet felt as if they were rooted to the ground. The surprise came too suddenly, and Chu Hechao couldn’t immediately understand the meaning behind those words.
Was it what he thought it meant?
Chu Hechao opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to speak.
The man continued to gaze at Yuan Li, his breathing becoming increasingly heavy. After a while, he suddenly took a big step forward, lowered his head, and looked at Yuan Li, who was still sitting in the chair. Something deep within his eyes surfaced, burning with intensity. “Do you know what that statement means?”
Yuan Li shivered under the heat of his gaze. He took a deep breath. “I know.”
The man’s breathing became even more rapid.
To Chu Hechao, those words sounded incredibly beautiful.
Like a long-awaited downpour after a drought, or dry firewood meeting a blazing flame, an unnamed fire burned within Chu Hechao, making him feel dry-mouthed and restless. He removed his leather gloves and carefully touched Yuan Li’s cheek with his rough and powerful fingers, grazing his skin in a burning and itchy sensation that reached deep into his bones.
From the corner of the eye to the side of the ear, and then from the ear to the edge of the lips.
Yuan Li’s heart raced under the touch, and he spoke in a low, almost murmuring voice, “Do you only regret saying that it was the last time?”
He realized that his voice sounded strange, low and husky, somewhat indistinct.
The man’s broad back bent as he leaned closer to Yuan Li’s face. His gaze traveled inch by inch from Yuan Li’s eyebrows, then settled on his healthy, rosy lips.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yes.”
He was about to lean down and kiss Yuan Li.
But the young man turned his face away, and Chu Hechao kissed the side of his face instead.
The man lifted his eyelids, thinking that Yuan Li regretted it.
However, the evading young man seemed somewhat flustered. His ears slowly turned red as he whispered, “Answer a few questions for me first.”
Chu Hechao felt a throb in his temples. Who the h*ll plays a question-and-answer game at a time like this? But he suppressed his impatience, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and urged, “Ask.”
“If we cross this line, I won’t be able to pretend that nothing happened,” Yuan Li said. “Can you really bear the consequences… of an incestuous relationship between relatives?”
Chu Hechao burst into laughter. He whispered, “Then give me the opportunity for an incestuous relationship.”
Yuan Li looked at the man’s face, the burning desire in his eyes, and his previously wavering heart suddenly became resolute.
He was never one to fear anything, nor was he one to be irresponsible after being intimate with someone.
If he liked Chu Hechao, and Chu Hechao liked him, and if they both were unafraid of the consequences of being together, then what was there to hesitate about?
Since they both had a firm determination to move forward, they would overcome any difficulties they encountered one by one. Even if someone grew tired and regretted it, Yuan Li could face that outcome with composure, because at least they had tried.
The man understood the look in his eyes and lowered his head.
The weather in May was hot and humid.
Outside, cicadas chirped one after another, mosquitoes flew around, and a grasshopper perched in the grass, observing the loyal guards standing by the door.
Inside the room, Chu Hechao was kissing Yuan Li.
Their breaths were humid, and their breathing became increasingly chaotic. The man’s hand moved to the back of Yuan Li’s head, cradling his scalp, his fingers caressing.
Yuan Li’s scalp felt itchy and numb. He wanted to ask the man to move his hand, but his words were swallowed up.
The man wished he could delve into Yuan Li’s throat.
Yuan Li’s lips were numb from the kisses, and even his tongue felt numb. He was hot, with sweat drenching his entire body. The sweat soaked his eyelashes, and the man’s sweaty face appeared blurred and sensual in his eyes.
It was an incredibly indulgent kiss.
The door that had been kicked in managed to close, and the cracks in the broken hole still allowed shadows from the outside to be seen.
The guards stood on either side of the door with their backs turned, making one feel nervous.
Chu Hechao wished he could devour Yuan Li. The man’s addiction and ferocity ravaged Yuan Li’s mouth, more intense than the previous time, as if it carried fire.
The agony of unattainable desire transformed into longing. The man’s fingers roamed to the back of Yuan Li’s neck, pressing and kneading. Yuan Li heard the sound of the man swallowing his saliva, and he was startled by Chu Hechao’s appearance.
He had to remind him in a low voice, “Be quieter.”
They couldn’t be discovered.
The man chuckled a few times, and his laughter tickled the ears. Yuan Li’s breathing became rapid, and suddenly his lips were bitten.
The rules from the younger sister-in-law were numerous, and he frowned, “Don’t bite me. What if it leaves a mark?”
Which brother and sister-in-law would discuss matters of spies and end up with a tooth mark on their lips?
The man agreed, “Okay, I won’t bite.”
Yuan Li wiped the sweat on his forehead onto Chu Hechao’s shoulder. Chu Hechao stroked Yuan Li’s neck, and the sweat became more abundant, streaming down his neck.
After a while, the two inside the room finally stopped.
Chu Hechao closed his eyes, a look of restraint on his face. He stood up, straightened Yuan Li’s clothes and hair.
Yuan Li’s face was flushed red. He wasn’t very good at catching his breath. He had managed to kiss for so long solely relying on his strong lung capacity. His face was covered in perspiration, and Chu Hechao’s fingers carefully brushed the strands of sweat-stuck hair away from his face and behind his ear.
The condensation and pain from before had completely disappeared.
After fixing Yuan Li’s hair, Chu Hechao looked at him for a while.
Yuan Li looked back in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
Chu Hechao’s ears turned red. He took a deep breath, lowered his head, and cupped Yuan Li’s face in his hands again, whispering, “Yuan Li, be my wife.”
“I will treat you well,” the man’s palms were warm, and he had never spoken these words to anyone before. He blushed and his heart raced, “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. If you want to work in the fields, I’ll work alongside you. If anyone bullies you, I’ll stand up for you. If you like eating potatoes, I’ll let you have them all. In summer, I’ll share my ice with you. In winter, I’ll hunt for you and make a scarf. I’ll chop firewood for you and heat up a big tub of water as a hot spring. Forget about that dead man, Chu Mingfeng. Be with me, okay?”
Yuan Li was moved and amused. He replied, “But you’re so mean to me.”
The man furrowed his thick eyebrows, unsure where he had been mean. He patiently said, “I’ll try to change.”
Yuan Li whispered again, “If someone finds out about us, would you be afraid?”
“No,” Chu Hechao wiped Yuan Li’s cheek with his thumb. “We’ve gone through so many life and death situations. How could I be afraid of them pointing fingers at us?”
But he knew that the reputation of a brother and sister-in-law relationship was not good. He didn’t mind it himself, but Yuan Li had such a good reputation, and he couldn’t bear any stain on it. He reassured him, “Don’t worry, I will never give anyone a chance to bring this to your attention. No one will know about this, and if they do, I won’t let them utter a word. Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”
Yuan Li remained silent for a moment.
Chu Hechao thought that he was scared, his breath becoming erratic. The man lifted Yuan Li’s chin, his expression somewhat fierce, “Yuan Li, don’t tell me you’re scared now.”
Yuan Li snapped back to his senses and smiled, “I’m not scared.”
Chu Hechao breathed a sigh of relief. His agitated mind finally settled down, and he wore a serious expression again, “Once we step out of this door, although we may appear the same as before, we are no longer just brother and sister-in-law. You can’t regret it.”
Yuan Li sensed the man’s unease and spoke softly, “I won’t regret it.”
Chu Hechao and Yuan Li locked eyes, forehead against forehead, nose to nose, their lips sticking together.
Suddenly, a guard knocked on the door and said, “General, the county magistrate is here to see you.”
Yuan Li reluctantly regained his composure, the heat between their breaths lingering. He pushed the man away, “Stop kissing, Cai Ji is here.”
Chu Hechao acted as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Yuan Li raised his voice, “Chu Hechao.”
Chu Hechao still didn’t move.
Helplessly, Yuan Li said, “Brother.”
Finally, the man stepped back, a smile on his face. He lightly touched Yuan Li’s cheek, wondering why this person was so likable.
Chu Hechao had lived for twenty-seven years, but he had never been as happy as he was today.
The two of them quickly tidied themselves up. Yuan Li cooled his face with the back of his cool hand while asking Chu Hechao, “Do I look much different from before?”
Chu Hechao glanced at him and smiled playfully, “Yes, you look like someone who has been pampered by a man.”
This guy was being mischievous again.
Yuan Li rolled his eyes at him, opened the window, and let the breeze blow for a while before gesturing to Chu Hechao that he could open the door.
Cai Ji didn’t enter the room. He had just learned about the spies infiltrating the dancers, and now he didn’t dare to get close to Chu Hechao. He stood by the door, humbly seeking forgiveness.
Chu Hechao was in a good mood now, so he didn’t dwell on it too much. He only instructed Cai Ji to search inside and outside the magistrate’s mansion, and he handed over all the dancers to his guards for a thorough investigation.
After completing these tasks, they left the magistrate’s mansion.
On their way back, Yuan Li was somewhat silent, clearly pondering something.
Chu Hechao asked, “What are you thinking about?”
After a moment of contemplation, Yuan Li said, “When we were at the magistrate’s mansion, didn’t I search for any accomplices of the Hu dancers in the vicinity?”
Chu Hechao responded, “You said you found two people.”
Yuan Li nodded, “But what concerns me the most is not those two people, but when I was searching, I accidentally stumbled upon Cai Ji’s stable. I saw servants cleaning several exhausted horses lying on the ground, repairing their hooves. I took a look, and their hooves were so worn out that they couldn’t be used anymore. They were covered in mud, clearly from running hundreds or even thousands of miles to end up in such a state.”
Chu Hechao furrowed his brows, “Could it be that Cai Ji is really involved with the Yishan Army?”
Yuan Li shook his head, “I also found it strange. So while one of the servants was relieving himself, I sent one of my guards to ask him, and the servant told me that the horses’ owner came from Luoyang.”
Chu Hechao narrowed his eyes, “The Cai family has a direct lineage in Luoyang. Could it be someone sent by the Prefect of the Capital, Cai Yi?”
Yuan Li said, “That’s what I was thinking too.”
Chu Hechao pondered.
Yuan Li paused, lowering his voice, “General, you…”
Chu Hechao immediately looked at him with a half-smile, his body swaying with the horse’s movements. He held the reins with his muscular and well-defined arms, “What are you going to call me?”
Yuan Li looked at his sleek muscles and felt envious. He changed his wording, “Ciyue.”
Chu Hechao suddenly approached on his horse, lowering his voice, “I really want to kiss you right now.”
Yuan Li thought to himself that he was a serious person, furrowing his brow, “Listen to me.”
Chu Hechao instantly changed to a serious expression, nodding, “Continue.”
Yuan Li continued, “Don’t you find it strange that Cai Yi’s apology came out of nowhere? On the surface, he showed great respect towards both of us. He even suggested that we shouldn’t act recklessly and take matters into our own hands, which can be interpreted as him considering our well-being and wanting to offer advice and demonstrate his abilities.”
Che Kangbo was a mediocre person. If it were a normal situation, offending him would only lead to minor consequences. Yuan Li’s reasoning could easily handle the situation, and Che Kangbo couldn’t do anything about it. Cai Ji wasn’t a fool; he wouldn’t be unaware of this. But at the beginning, he said, “What if sending troops to suppress bandits is misunderstood as using force against Yizhou?” Under what circumstances would Cai Ji exaggerate like that and make him worry that Che Kangbo might misconstrue their intentions towards Yizhou?
The Northern Zhou Dynasty still existed, and the world still belonged to Emperor Jianyuan. Although various forces were beginning to stir, they hadn’t openly crossed that final line. Sending troops to suppress bandits in Yizhou would, at most, be seen as overstepping their bounds.
No matter how he looked at it, Cai Ji’s words and actions today seemed off.
Those were eight large boxes of gold! Why did Cai Ji suddenly show such sincerity in apologizing to them?
Yuan Li explained all his doubts to Chu Hechao, saying, “I always feel that something we don’t know has happened.”
Chu Hechao tapped the reins with his fingers and said, “It should be Cai Yi in Luoyang who passed on some message to him. Wait, I will send someone to find out.”
Governor’s Mansion.
Cai Ji was helped to sit down by a steward. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, his chest heaving. After he calmed down, Cai Ji’s face gradually darkened. After a moment, he suddenly slapped the armrest and gritted his teeth, “No! I have to leave Youzhou!”
Yesterday, Cai Yi sent him a message from Luoyang that terrified him. Upon hearing this news, Cai Ji was frightened for a long time without recovering his senses. After dark, he immediately made a decision and prepared to use his family fortune to make amends to Chu Hechao and Yuan Li.
Because the Emperor’s condition was worsening.
In the letter, Cai Yi said that Emperor Jianyuan had been ill since spring and couldn’t be cured for some unknown reason. His condition had worsened instead, and now he was on the verge of death. The imperial relatives and eunuchs were watching eagerly, and everyone in Luoyang was becoming self-conscious. Even the letter Cai Yi sent to Cai Ji was sent early, fearing that Luoyang would be sealed off.
Upon learning that Emperor Jianyuan was near death, Cai Ji began to tremble all over.
Cai Ji was no longer young, but his slow brain understood that if Emperor Jianyuan died, the world would truly fall into chaos.
What was even more terrifying was that Luoyang and Youzhou were thousands of miles apart. By the time this letter reached Cai Ji’s hands, Emperor Jianyuan might have already passed away!
How could Cai Ji not tremble in fear?
Especially since Yuan Li had recently started recruiting troops. Once Emperor Jianyuan died, chaos would erupt across the realm, and the various regional lords would rise up. Chu Hechao and Yuan Li would be among those lords, and they would have complete control over Youzhou.
Chu Hechao and Yuan Li’s power was growing stronger, and if that was the case, what would be left for himself, who had offended and deceived them in the past? Cai Ji knew he had to quickly make amends, return the embezzled goods, and please them to erase his past transgressions.
Today, Cai Ji did just that. He even tried to suggest to Chu Hechao and Yuan Li not to interfere in suppressing the bandits in Yizhou. In the future, when chaos engulfed the realm, it would be seen as a signal to raise an army. With the Emperor gone, Che Kangbo could use it as an excuse to incite war in the two provinces and launch an attack on Youzhou.
Cai Ji, of course, didn’t care about war or the lives of the common people. But he was greedy for self-preservation and feared being implicated in the chaos, risking the loss of his wealth or even his life.
To him, what’s the point of suppressing bandits? It was simply meddling in other people’s affairs, wasting manpower and resources. What good would it do to kill those bandits? It would be better to stay hidden within Youzhou, living peacefully day by day, regardless of the chaos outside. If someone had designs on Youzhou, he could just offer them money and provisions to make them allies. Wouldn’t that be better?
Cai Ji deeply disliked the actions of Yuan Li and Chu Hechao.
But from today’s events, Yuan Li’s attitude was firm, unwilling to give up on suppressing the bandits. Chu Hechao, too, had a strong inclination for killing, completely disregarding Cai Ji’s advice.
More importantly, Cai Ji didn’t expect there to be spies among the dancing girls, even attempting to target Yuan Li.
He had just made amends and had once again provoked these two people. With new grievances added to old ones, Cai Ji felt a sense of panic. Judging from their reactions, once Yuan Li and Chu Hechao learned that the Emperor had died and they had the opportunity to act, their first order of business would be to kill him for revenge.
Cai Ji couldn’t just wait for death. He didn’t want to stay in Youzhou any longer, even if Yuan Li and Chu Hechao spared his life. People who sent troops without permission to meddle in others’ territories were bound to bring trouble upon themselves sooner or later.
Looking at it this way, Youzhou was no longer safe.
The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced. His desire to leave grew stronger. Trembling, Cai Ji said to the steward, “Quickly pack up our belongings in the mansion, making sure no one notices. Move our wealth discreetly outside the city every day. After ten days, under the cover of night, we will leave. We can no longer stay in Youzhou!”
The steward nodded quickly and asked, “Where do you plan to go, sir?”
Cai Ji thought for a while, hesitating for a long time before finally making up his mind, “We will seek refuge with Wu Shanshi, the Inspector of Yizhou. Tomorrow, you will send a letter to Wu Shanshi on my behalf, informing him that I will bring important news to join him.”
As he said this, Cai Ji remembered the cold and indifferent demeanor that Yuan Li and Chu Hechao displayed when they met each other at the banquet. He felt that their relationship wasn’t as good as rumored, and there might be many conflicts between them. He sneered and added, “Tell him that I know quite a bit about Youzhou.”
The steward replied, “Yes.”
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OMG FINALLYY!! I thought the misunderstanding would drag out longer and I’m so glad it didn’t. Anyway thanks as always for the wonderful translation, they’re always done so well :D
YESSS