The leading officer of the pursuing soldiers divided his men into two groups: one continued searching for Yi Yefeng’s whereabouts, while the other surrounded Xueya. After thoroughly searching him to ensure he had no weapons, the officer approached Xueya and took out a scroll from one of his men. He carefully compared Xueya’s face to the portrait on the scroll before saying, “Take him away!”
Xueya was brought back to the previous town and then locked up alone.
On the road earlier, he had tried his best to hide his fear, but now that he was all alone, he couldn’t hold back any longer. Curling up in the corner of the bed, he began to cry quietly, afraid that the soldiers outside might hear him, not daring to make a sound.
If he had known today would come, he would have insisted on leaving with He Xulan that day, even if it meant death. He didn’t know how He Xulan was doing now, but thinking it through, at least he had lived longer than expected. It wasn’t too bad—after all, in his dreams, he had died much earlier. But he couldn’t let go of He Xulan.
He missed He Xulan so much.
At dawn the next day, Xueya was still asleep when someone unlocked the door from outside. Startled by the noise, he hurriedly climbed out of bed. The officer from yesterday entered, glanced at Xueya, and raised his hand. Immediately, the guards behind him rushed forward, dragging Xueya off the bed and stuffing him into a carriage outside.
The carriage traveled day and night, always on the move. Xueya initially thought they were going to kill him, but now it seemed they were taking him back to the capital for trial. As he silently calculated how many days he had left to live, the group suddenly stopped to rest in a town.
The officer rented out an entire inn, and Xueya’s room was located on the second floor, in the middle. Soldiers guarded the door. Knowing there was no chance of escape, Xueya went to bed early. His sleep had been shallow lately, and he would awaken at the slightest sound.
In the middle of the night, Xueya suddenly heard some noise outside.
“Prime Minister, the person is inside.”
“Open the door.”
Was that… Yin Qingxuan?
Xueya immediately jumped out of bed and rushed to the table, smashing the cup on top and grabbing a shard of porcelain, which he pressed against his neck. So, when Yin Qingxuan entered, this was the scene he saw. Yin Qingxuan appeared to have traveled through the night, his body chilled and his fur cloak slightly damp with dew.
“Don’t come any closer!” Xueya, recognizing that it was indeed Yin Qingxuan, pressed the shard even closer to his throat. “Or… or I’ll kill myself right here!”
Yin Qingxuan’s foot pivoted as he walked to a chair by the window and sat down. Looking at Xueya calmly, he said two words, “Go ahead.”
Xueya: “…”
Seeing that Xueya wasn’t acting, Yin Qingxuan propped his head up with one hand. “Why aren’t you doing it?” His voice, unusually lazy compared to his usual demeanor, carried a hint of fatigue. “Is the shard not sharp enough? I have a dagger here.”
Xueya had no real desire to die, and now feeling awkward, he slowly put the shard down. His bare feet were cold on the floor, and he glanced at Yin Qingxuan, who showed no intention of getting up. So, he quickly ran to the bed, put on his shoes, and wrapped himself in his coat.
“Where is He Xulan?” Yin Qingxuan suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, Xueya’s eyes brightened. The fact that Yin Qingxuan was asking about He Xulan meant they hadn’t caught him.
“I don’t know,” Xueya replied.
“You must know where he’s headed,” Yin Qingxuan pressed.
Without any hesitation, Xueya said, “I don’t know either. He didn’t tell me anything.”
Yin Qingxuan lowered his hand and stood up. “You can choose not to talk now, but when we arrive in the capital in a few days, it will no longer be up to you.”
With that, he turned and left, the door closing behind him.
Once Yin Qingxuan was gone, Xueya sat on the bed, clutching his coat tightly and whispering, “I’m not going to say anything.”
The next day, there was an extra person in the carriage.
Previously, Xueya had been alone in the carriage, but now, Yin Qingxuan was there too, making everything uncomfortable. Usually, he would just stay curled up in the carriage and eat when it was time, but today, Yin Qingxuan made him do all sorts of tasks—even preparing and serving tea, adjusting the cushions on his seat, and, worst of all, massaging his legs.
Anger surged within Xueya. After all, he was going to die soon—why should he endure such humiliation from this despised Yin Qingxuan? He hadn’t forgotten how Yin Qingxuan had once stolen his hairpin, poisoned him, suffocated him with blankets, and… done even worse things.
“I won’t do it!” Xueya turned his face away.
Yin Qingxuan lifted an eyelid and glanced at him. “Are you sure?”
Xueya turned back, glaring at Yin Qingxuan. “I’m sure. Kill me if you want, but I’m not going to—Ah!”
In an instant, he was yanked close to Yin Qingxuan.
Staring coldly at Xueya’s face now just inches away, Yin Qingxuan said icily, “I may not be able to kill you right now, but there are other ways to punish you. Do you think killing is the only form of retribution in this world?”
Hearing this, Xueya’s long eyelashes trembled uncontrollably, and in a flash, his anger dissipated, replaced by reason. “I’ll… I’ll massage… Is that good enough?”
Yin Qingxuan slowly loosened his grip on Xueya, but his gaze remained fixed on him. Xueya, filled with grievances, had no choice but to squat down and massage Yin Qingxuan’s legs.
After a while, Xueya’s hands and legs grew sore, but Yin Qingxuan didn’t tell him to stop. Leaning against the side of the carriage with his eyes closed, he seemed to be asleep, but whenever Xueya paused, he would immediately hear—
“Hmm?”
Eventually, Xueya couldn’t bear it any longer and said, “My hands really hurt. The wounds on my hands haven’t healed yet.”
Yin Qingxuan opened his eyes and looked at Xueya’s hands.
Hurriedly, Xueya rolled up his sleeves, revealing the arrow wound that had worsened over time. He hadn’t applied any medicine in recent days, and the wound was beginning to fester.
Yin Qingxuan’s gaze lingered on the wound for a moment before he parted his lips and, with cold indifference, said, “You deserve it. If you hadn’t escaped from the palace, how would you have gotten injured?”
Upon hearing this, Xueya quickly lowered his sleeves again. “And if I stayed in the palace, would I have survived? You all left me no way to live. You saw what I was like back then. If I hadn’t escaped, I would’ve died in that room.” He paused, then added, “But what’s the point of saying this to you? You’d be happy to see me dead. You wouldn’t pity me.”
Saying that, he moved to massage Yin Qingxuan’s legs again, but Yin Qingxuan avoided his hands.
“Qin Ke, is there any medicine for external injuries?” Yin Qingxuan suddenly called out.
Soon enough, a medicine chest was brought inside. Yin Qingxuan took out some ointment and looked at Xueya. “Give me your hand.”
Xueya froze for a moment, and only when Yin Qingxuan furrowed his brow did he react, hurriedly extending his hand. Yin Qingxuan treated his wounds, and after that, he didn’t make Xueya do any more tasks. Xueya even noticed that his meals became lighter and easier on his stomach during the journey.
Taking all of this into account, a thought crept into Xueya’s mind—a possibility, though it was likely wrong. But he wanted to live, so he decided to test it.
When he heard someone outside informing Yin Qingxuan that they would reach the capital by the next day, Xueya gathered his courage and sat next to him.
Yin Qingxuan glanced at him, a trace of surprise flickering in his eyes.
Throughout the journey, Xueya had never voluntarily approached Yin Qingxuan or spoken to him.
“Let me go. If I go back, the emperor will surely kill me,” Xueya whispered, afraid the people outside might hear.
“Why should I let you go?” Yin Qingxuan replied calmly.
“Because… because…” The next words were difficult for Xueya to say, but he finally forced them out. “You like me, don’t you?”
As soon as he said it, Xueya saw the surprise in Yin Qingxuan’s eyes turn into mockery. Before Xueya could react further, his chin was harshly gripped.
“You think just because you have some looks, every man in this world should like you?” Yin Qingxuan’s voice was icy cold.
