Although he thought this way, Xueya couldn’t stop himself from looking at He Xulan’s lips. He Xulan’s lips were neither too thin nor too thick, but because of his injury, their color was much paler than usual.
Xueya stared at He Xulan’s lips in a daze for a long time. When their eyes finally met, he seemed startled and quickly turned his face away.
There were only the two of them in the hall.
Thinking of this, Xueya quietly sat up straight and reached out to lower the bed curtain. As soon as the curtain fell, the light inside the bed instantly dimmed. He didn’t pull it all the way, leaving a gap to let the candlelight in.
Xueya didn’t dare to look at He Xulan. He lowered his head and slowly began to undo his belt. Once loosened, his clothes hung loosely on him. As he gently pulled his upper garment aside, his face was already burning red, especially as he moved closer to He Xulan’s lips.
His long lashes fluttered nervously, his cheeks flushed, and the scent of his clothes filled the air.
“Brother,” Xueya’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s hum. After waiting a while with no response from He Xulan, he bit his lip and moved a little closer.
In that moment, Xueya couldn’t help but shiver all over, but afraid of hurting He Xulan’s wound, he dared not move and could only maintain that awkward, shy posture.
***
From then on, Xueya would come to He Xulan’s bedchamber every night. The Ningfu Palace was too lively during the day, but at night, it was quiet. Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and although He Xulan could now get out of bed and walk around, his wound had not completely healed. His face remained pale, and he still couldn’t do any strenuous activities.
Xueya was worried that He Xulan’s wound would leave lasting complications. Whenever he saw He Xulan reading for too long, he couldn’t help but take the book away, saying, “Brother, stop reading, you’ll tire yourself.”
“What else can I do? There’s nothing for me to do now. If I don’t read, what should I do? Go to bed early?” He Xulan glanced at the sky outside the window.
At the mention of going to bed, Xueya’s face uncontrollably flushed red. He held the book to his chest for a long time before stammering, “It’s… still early. It’s not time to go to bed yet. Let me… read to you, brother. You can listen with your eyes closed.”
They were sitting together on the bed. Xueya’s dress spread out like flower petals, revealing his feet in white socks. He Xulan looked at him, then closed his eyes and said softly, “Alright.”
Hearing this, Xueya picked up the book and studied its contents carefully. It wasn’t the kind of storybook he was used to, but he still tried his best to read it aloud, though his reading was slow and halting, with many words he didn’t recognize.
Whenever he came across an unfamiliar word, he would pause and glance at He Xulan. Seeing that He Xulan hadn’t opened his eyes, he would skip the word. After skipping a few, he stopped looking at He Xulan altogether and just skipped them freely.
Listening to the fragmented sentences, He Xulan’s brow furrowed. When a sentence of a dozen words was reduced to only two, He Xulan couldn’t hold back any longer. He opened his eyes, took the book from Xueya’s hands, and pulled him into his arms.
Xueya, startled by He Xulan’s sudden movement, immediately looked at his chest and exclaimed, “Your wound!”
He Xulan blinked but didn’t answer. Instead, he gazed at Xueya’s neck. The bandages had been removed, though faint red marks remained. After some time, these marks would disappear completely.
“Does it still hurt?” He Xulan asked Xueya.
Noticing He Xulan looking at his neck, Xueya quickly shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt.” Then he asked, “Brother, did you pull at your wound just now?”
Because of his pale complexion, He Xulan had a frailty he hadn’t shown before. His usual aloof and noble demeanor had softened, making him appear more delicate, which only made Xueya feel even more protective, especially since it was his fault He Xulan was in this state.
Xueya was extremely worried about He Xulan now, afraid he might feel any discomfort, particularly if his wound reopened.
“No,” He Xulan replied, easing Xueya’s concern slightly. But soon, Xueya tried to move off his lap, worried that he might hurt He Xulan, who was still recovering.
Before he could say anything, He Xulan leaned in.
Because Xueya was sitting on He Xulan’s lap, their height difference made it easy for He Xulan to kiss his neck. Xueya’s fox-like eyes widened in surprise, and his hands instinctively grabbed the fabric of He Xulan’s robe, tugging lightly without daring to tighten his grip.
In the past, Xueya would have begged for mercy by now. He was particularly sensitive to people touching his neck; it seemed like his weakness. Just a touch would make him feel an odd, overwhelming sensation.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by the voice of Huang Gonggong outside the hall.
“Empress Dowager, His Majesty’s carriage is on its way to Ningfu Palace.”
He Xulan lifted his head from Xueya’s neck, and Xueya quickly snapped back to reality, whispering, “Brother, I’ll go back to my room first.”
“Mm.” He Xulan let go of Xueya, and once he had left, He Xulan rose from the couch, took a robe from the wardrobe, and lazily draped it over himself before reclining back on the bed.
When Cui Lingjing entered and saw this scene, the words he had been about to say instantly died on his lips. Over the past half month, the drought had not eased—in fact, it had worsened.
“Why has His Majesty come at this time? Has something happened in the court?” He Xulan asked, covering his lips with a silk handkerchief and coughing lightly.
Cui Lingjing, even more reluctant to speak, simply said, “No, nothing. I am just concerned about your health and came to check on you.” After some pleasantries, Cui Lingjing left, but as soon as he returned to Fengrui Palace, he summoned the chief astronomer.
“How long will this drought last?” Cui Lingjing asked, his temper flaring the moment the Imperial Astronomer arrived.
The chief Imperial Astronomer immediately knelt, cold sweat dripping down his face as he replied, “Your Majesty, we have been monitoring the stars day and night, but there are no signs of rain.”
Upon hearing this, Cui Lingjing lost control of his temper. For a moment, he even blamed He Xulan. If He Xulan hadn’t been injured, someone could have prayed for rain, and without his injury, Lei Dongmiao wouldn’t have died. Without Lei Dongmiao’s death, Cui Lingjing wouldn’t be overwhelmed by both the drought and the threat of General Lei’s potential rebellion.
Although he had successfully taken control of the troops from the other generals, his chances of defeating Great General Lei were still slim. Yi Yefeng and Ning Can were both young generals—how could they stand against the cunning and experienced Lei?
“If that’s the case, why do I still keep you useless people around? Starting tomorrow, for each day without rain, I’ll have one of your heads chopped off, starting with you!” Cui Lingjing shouted.
The chief Imperial Astronomer bowed even lower, his forehead pressed to the ground. “Your Majesty, please calm down, please…” Suddenly, he raised his head. “When observing the stars, I saw a disaster star rising in the east.”
The east symbolized the palace.
Hearing this, Cui Lingjing frowned. “A disaster star? What do you mean?”
“I believe it is because of this disaster star that our country is suffering from this relentless drought. I consulted ancient texts and found that in the previous dynasty, they offered the disaster star as a sacrifice to the heavens, and after doing so, rain fell,” the Imperial Astronomer explained.
Upon hearing this, Cui Lingjing’s mood brightened, and his tone softened. “Really? Then we should offer this disaster star as a sacrifice to the heavens. Who is it?”
The chief Imperial Astronomer said, “Upon close observation, I found that this disaster star appeared in the east recently, likely within the last few years. The disaster star was fated to lose both parents at a young age—someone who grew up without a mother or father.”
“Is there anything else? Is it a man or a woman? What’s the birth date?” Cui Lingjing felt the Imperial Astronomer’s information was too vague. There were many people in the palace who had lost both parents, especially eunuchs who had no family.
The chief Imperial Astronomer hesitated. “Please allow me two more days to determine the star’s gender and birth date.”
Cui Lingjing agreed, and two days later, the Imperial Astronomer returned, his face drawn. “I have determined the disaster star is nineteen years old, but I could not discern the gender. For some reason, the star’s gender is unclear—neither male nor female.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Cui Lingjing thought of someone.
