Chapter 71
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Upon hearing these words, it felt as if struck by lightning.
Jiang Yanchi’s figure couldn’t help but sway, and the chaotic thoughts seemed to gradually unravel, following the threads, untangling the confusion.
Yet, it seemed to fall into even greater confusion.
As the sun set in the west, dark clouds gathered.
At dusk, a startling thunderbolt tore through the sky above the capital.
Immediately following, a torrential downpour ensued.
“Your Majesty.” Grand Tutor Su, who had been standing for a long time, spoke solemnly, “It is now half-past rooster hour. If Your Majesty doesn’t issue an edict soon, Lord Marquis Xu will be leaving the capital.”
“Even if Your Majesty has doubts, if someone is let go and an attempt is made to capture them again, it will likely be difficult.”
Jiang Yanchi sat for a long time in the hall, remaining silent throughout.
“Your Majesty…”
“Guards.” He finally stood up slowly, this time Su Mingan couldn’t fathom what he was going to do. Although the sun was setting, no one dared to enter and light more lamps. The hall was now dim.
The emperor stood tall in the hall, alone.
“Take Zhao Lingqu to the Zhao Prison.”
Zhao Lingqu was surprised, and before he could speak, he heard Jiang Yanchi’s cold voice, “If you dare to speak nonsense in front of others again, I will make sure you die without a complete corpse.”
“Lord Su!” Zhao Lingqu was being led away by the guards, and he sought help with a glance at Grand Tutor Su standing by his side.
Grand Tutor Su gestured for him to be patient, waiting until he was dragged away before saying, “Your Majesty, about Lord Xu…”
“Have the city gate guards quietly intercept Xu Chunmu, detain him in Shuntian Mansion, and don’t alert the officials from the Ministry of Justice.”
Su Mingan said, “Yes.”
Avoiding the Ministry of Justice was to circumvent Chu Xie’s eyes and ears. It seemed that his words had indeed reached someone’s ears. Su Mingan had some plans in mind, so he took his leave first. After making arrangements in the prison, he advised Zhao Lingqu not to cause trouble; he would have some plans. This eased the man’s anxiety.
Heavy rain poured, and winter thunder echoed.
Raindrops hit the windows and splashed onto the newly picked plum blossoms, knocking off a few snow-like petals.
A room filled with a faint fragrance.
Chu Xie was vaguely uneasy, and his right eyelid had been twitching. It was quite late, and the young emperor hadn’t even come for his evening meal. He wondered where he had gone.
National affairs were too busy. Moreover, it was a turbulent time now, with internal and external troubles. The emperor always arrived late.
But yesterday was their big wedding after all. Could he still stay overnight in the Hall of Government Affairs today?
Little Xizi was still guarding the Chengluan Palace, and he didn’t forget to brew the medicine on time. Chu Xie had finished his dinner, and as he looked at him pleasingly, he said, “Niang Niang, His Majesty said you must drink this medicine. Niang Niang, don’t be unhappy. Bitter medicine is good for you. His Majesty is doing it for your own good.”
He continued to say a bunch of good words, but Chu Xie didn’t want to listen, so he raised his hand and drank the medicine.
Holding the golden-threaded brazier, listening to the rain outside, Chu Xie asked, “Is His Majesty still in the Hall of Government Affairs?”
“Yes, the situation in the northwest is critical recently, and His Majesty is always busy. Niang Niang doesn’t have to wait for His Majesty. If you’re tired, you can sleep first,” Little Xizi said, surprised that Chu Xie took the initiative to ask. “Later on, His Majesty will definitely come. Since Niang Niang entered the palace, there hasn’t been a day when he didn’t stay overnight in Chengluan Palace.”
“…”
Chu Xie fell silent for a moment and asked, “Every day? Then why do I rarely see him?”
“He usually returns around midnight, leaves at the third quarter of the Tiger hour, and to avoid disturbing Niang Niang’s sleep, he stays in the side hall. Sometimes, he sleeps here…” Little Xizi pointed to the small cot outside, and Chu Xie found it hard to imagine how the tall and sturdy young emperor squeezed onto such a small bed.
Chu Xie slept at least seven or eight hours a day, no wonder he didn’t see him often in the half month before the big wedding.
“Niang Niang, what if…”
Little Xizi observed Chu Xie’s expression, “What if I go to the Hall of Government Affairs to invite His Majesty back?”
“No need, if he has something to do, there’s no need to disturb…”
“If he knows it’s Niang Niang’s idea to invite him back, His Majesty will definitely be very happy and won’t feel disturbed. Niang Niang may not know, but as long as you ask His Majesty a little more, he’s always very happy.”
The irritation in Chu Xie’s heart intensified.
“No need to go.”
As he sent the others away, Chu Xie took off his outer garment and laid on the bed. He heard a creaking sound outside, and the door opened.
Chu Xie’s eyebrows jumped, and he heard the dripping sound of water. He turned around, wrapped in his outer garment, holding the only lamp, and lifted the pearl curtain to look.
It was the young emperor.
However, he seemed different today, appearing exceptionally silent, as if a bit lost.
Perhaps he was too tired.
“Your Majesty.” Chu Xie held the lamp, and the light illuminated his half-clear and thin cheek. “Have you had your dinner?”
Drip, drip.
With dimming light, Chu Xie reached out and felt a chilling sensation. His whole body was soaked through by the night rain.
“You…”
Chu Xie put down the lamp, untied his belt for him, and called for Little Xizi to come in and assist him in changing. However, he heard him say softly, “It’s okay.”
“No need to call anyone, I’ll change by myself.”
After saying that, he untied his belt, took off the soaking wet clothes, threw them on the ground with a heavy sound, and laid down on the cot outside. Chu Xie smelled a strong scent of alcohol, realizing he must have drunk too much. He tried to pull him down but ended up being pulled into his arms.
Jiang Yanchi felt icy cold, and even the embrace carried a piercing dampness.
Chu Xie knelt half on the small cot, his upper body against him. Unable to break free, he spoke in his ear, “Your Majesty?”
“Jiang Yanchi?”
The young emperor slowly opened his eyes a slit, and his dark eyes assessed the person in front of him.
“Get up and go sleep over there.” Chu Xie pointed to the bed inside.
But the hand behind him tightened even more, and he directly lifted him onto the small cot.
Turning around and pressing him on the inner side, the several-feet-wide small cot was completely occupied by the two bodies. Chu Xie, unable to withstand the chilling air, shivered a bit, and Jiang Yanchi held him even tighter.
A strong smell of alcohol pervaded the air.
“Chu Xie.”
The young emperor’s voice was hoarse, “Chu Xie, Chu Xie…”
The voice sounded pitiful, and Chu Xie raised his hand, unexpectedly feeling dampness. He paused for a moment, used his sleeve to wipe away Jiang Yanchi’s tears, and asked, “What’s wrong with Your Majesty?”
However, Jiang Yanchi just held him even tighter.
After a while, he lowered his head and began kissing his eyebrows and eyes. The sweet scent of alcohol lingered between their lips and teeth, lingering and gentle, like a butterfly playing with flowers, very careful.
Looking down at him underneath, half drunk and half awake, as if confirming something, he said, “Three books and six rites, worshiping heaven and earth. After drinking the marriage wine, we are a real couple.”
“….mm.”
“Husband and wife, Husband and wife…”
Jiang Yanchi sniffed again, lifting Chu Xie’s chin with his hand, and asked with an inexplicable meaning, “Chu Xie, do you know what husband and wife mean?”
“…Mm.”
“No, you don’t know.”
Jiang Yanchi chuckled softly, lowered his head to kiss him again, and as he continued kissing, Chu Xie felt tears falling on his face. “You really don’t know.”
“Your Majesty, are you too tired?”
Jiang Yanchi remained silent. In the dark night, a suppressed atmosphere enveloped them. Suddenly, he got up and pressed his head, saying, “I’m too tired. You go to sleep. I’ll go to the side hall.”
Chu Xie instinctively held onto him. “Your Majesty.”
“If it’s really too exhausting, I won’t attend the early court tomorrow.” He frowned. “Take a good rest.”
Jiang Yanchi turned his head slightly and heard the person saying, “Xu Chunmu has led the troops to the western border, and you don’t need to worry too much about the situation in the northwest. It will get better.”
The thin sleeves slipped away from his hand, and he paused before hearing Jiang Yanchi respond indifferently in the darkness, “Mmm.”
“Actually,” Chu Xie looked at him, feeling his unusual silence. Thinking that he had indeed been very busy recently, he hesitated and said, “You don’t have to worry about waking me up, and you don’t have to sleep in the side hall. You’re the emperor. You can sleep wherever you want…”
“I am the emperor.” Jiang Yanchi sat on the cot, pressing his forehead with his hand, and his disheveled hair fell on his back. “Yes, I am already the emperor.”
“In the past, I thought I might never step out of the cold palace in my life. As a result, in just four or five years, I became the emperor of Great Wei… thanks to you, thanks to Chu Zhangyin’s meticulous planning, pushing me into this position.”
“No need to thank me.” Chu Xie lightly laughed, his tone relaxed. “Everyone has their own motives.”
A cold wind swept into the room, rustling the delicate pearl curtains, extinguishing the only candle on the table.
Silence enveloped the room.
“Chu Xie.”
“You are an extremely cruel person.”
Chu Xie was taken aback. He never expected the young emperor to say such a thing after getting drunk. He furrowed his brow, contemplating for a while before hesitantly responding, “You just realized that.”
Mumbling to himself, “If I hadn’t used some means back then, how could I have overcome objections and placed you on the position of Crown Prince.”
“Alright, you’re drunk. Sleep early today, and you won’t attend the morning court tomorrow…” Saying this, Chu Xie led him into the inner room, pushing him to sit on the bed. He hesitated whether to have Little Xizi bring in a cup of hot tea.
However, he noticed that his wrist was grabbed by a cold hand.
“I remember your hands. They were beautiful when you played the zither.”
“But since then, you haven’t played the zither for me again.”
Instead, their fingers interlocked, squeezing hard until the joints ached. Chu Xie frowned and hummed a sentence before the inexplicable force loosened a bit.
“Why is Your Majesty suddenly recalling these old memories?” Chu Xie covered him with a blanket, wiping his wet hair with a dry cloth, thinking that it might be related to their recent marriage.
Yes. Last night, he lost consciousness due to a cup of conjugal wine, and he didn’t know what else he did or said afterward.
Thinking about it was embarrassing.
In the mortal world, he was never drunk after a thousand cups. But here, half a cup was enough.
And today, he woke up sober, only to find Jiang Yanchi talking nonsense while intoxicated.
“Chu Xie.”
It was the first time Chu Xie saw Jiang Yanchi drunk.
When sober, he would call him Ah Xie or Older Brother Chu, very clingy. But after drinking, he became more distant and less polite.
“The first time I entered the East Palace, we celebrated with a feast. Do you remember?”
“Mm.” He remembered; it was the time he almost got poisoned. How could he forget?
Jiang Yanchi lifted his head, and his gem-like eyes stared at him without blinking.
“You told me then that you had someone in your heart.”
“…,” Chu Xie took off one boot for him, intending to lift the other one, but he stepped on it, forcing him to look up at him.
He found it quite embarrassing to recall this trivial matter from who knows how long ago. He hesitated before responding vaguely, “Oh, is that so? I don’t remember much.”
“It was someone from the Northern Border.”
Jiang Yanchi’s voice was soft, “Who was it?”
Chu Xie chuckled.
This sesame seed-like trivial matter unexpectedly surfaced at this moment. It really showed his childish side.
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