I, The Substitute, Am With The Main Character Chapter 93

Back in the carriage, Xueya buried himself under the blankets, curling up like a turtle hiding in its shell. Luckily, He Xulan didn’t make fun of him again, so after a while, the flush on his face gradually faded.

As the night deepened, Xueya fell asleep again. However, since he had slept too much during the day, he suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. Instinctively, he reached out to find He Xulan, but when he looked around, he noticed that He Xulan wasn’t in the carriage. Instead, Yi Yefeng sat diagonally across from him, holding his sword.

Hearing movement, Yi Yefeng quickly opened his eyes. When he saw Xueya awake, his gaze flickered for a moment before he turned his eyes away. Xueya realized that the carriage was still moving, understanding that He Xulan must be driving it. So he didn’t call for him, but instead, moved forward, propping himself up to pour some water.

The water had already cooled, and he frowned while taking a couple of sips before putting the cup back down.

Not wanting to sleep anymore, Xueya wrapped himself in the blanket, sitting idly for a while. Then, he picked up the robe nearby and put it on. Afterward, he grabbed the still-warm hot water bottle from under the blankets and moved toward the carriage curtain.

Before he could get out, a sword blocked his way.

It was Yi Yefeng’s sword.

Xueya looked at him in confusion.

Without changing his expression, Yi Yefeng said, “The wind is strong at night. If your illness worsens, we’ll have to stop again to make medicine.”

Xueya was a bit annoyed by this remark. Feeling upset, he didn’t speak to Yi Yefeng and tried to push the sword aside by himself. However, before he could, He Xulan’s voice came from outside.

“Yi Yefeng is right, Xueya. Stay inside the carriage.”

“Okay, but are you cold, brother? Here, take this hot water bottle.” Xueya extended the bottle toward him.

“I’m not cold. You keep it.”

Hearing this, Xueya obediently sat back down. Now wide awake, he played idly with his fingers, then noticed that Yi Yefeng still had his eyes open. Unable to resist, he asked, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Yi Yefeng didn’t respond and closed his eyes.

They traveled for four consecutive days before stopping for the night at a small roadside inn. The inn was old and shabby, with broken tables and chairs, cobwebs in the corners, and the blankets on the bed smelled musty. Xueya consoled himself with the thought that at least he could take a hot bath, having not bathed in four days, which was driving him crazy.

He soaked for so long that the water was almost cold by the time he reluctantly got out. Once he finished, he found that the bedding on the bed had been replaced with the same blanket he had used in the carriage.

When He Xulan also finished bathing, Xueya eagerly crawled into his arms, letting He Xulan hold him. After four days of night travel, Xueya noticed the dark circles under He Xulan’s eyes and couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache, gently touching his face.

“Brother, are you very tired?”

“Not too much. Go to sleep. We can’t sleep until morning; we have to be up in two hours to continue on the road.” He Xulan grasped Xueya’s hand and tucked it back under the covers.

“Okay.” Xueya obediently closed his eyes.

Seeing how Xueya hadn’t complained about the hardships during their journey, He Xulan paused for a moment and softly asked, “Xueya, do you regret leaving the palace with me?”

He recognized the set of clothes Xueya wore when they left the palace—they had once belonged to Yin Qingxuan, worn during his coming-of-age ceremony. If he hadn’t taken Xueya out of the palace, maybe Yin Qingxuan would have protected him, ensuring that he lived a life of luxury and comfort.

Without a second of hesitation, Xueya replied, “No regrets.”

Unable to help himself, He Xulan pressed, “Why?”

Sleepiness was already overcoming Xueya, and as he rubbed his eyes, he answered, “Wherever brother goes, I’ll go too. I want to be with you.”

“Even if the future means a life of hardship, perhaps even death, you’ll still stay with me?” He Xulan asked.

Xueya felt that He Xulan’s worries were unnecessary, but he couldn’t reveal to him that in his dreams, he saw him becoming emperor. So, he decided to show his resolve through action. Leaning in, he planted a firm kiss on He Xulan’s lips. “Yes.”

These difficult times were only temporary. Once they passed through this hardship, the future would be filled with good days. Thinking this, Xueya couldn’t help but smile, giving He Xulan several more playful kisses. His kisses were unrefined, like a small puppy. When he finished, he was ready to snuggle back under the blankets to sleep, but suddenly, He Xulan pinned him down.

“Mmm, brother, don’t we have to get up early tomorrow?” Xueya noticed He Xulan’s hand moving over him.

He Xulan’s hand didn’t stop. “Just once.”

It had been a while since they had done this, so despite his mild protest, Xueya relented, half-heartedly resisting. Remembering that Yi Yefeng was sleeping next door, he bit his lip to muffle his sounds the whole time.

Afterwards, when it was all over, Xueya was so exhausted that by the time He Xulan helped clean him up, he had already fallen into a deep sleep.

And then, he had a dream.

In the dream, he was in what seemed to be a palace. The palace was magnificent, with carpets woven in intricate patterns, translucent silk curtains, and bead curtains made from flawless pearls that tinkled melodiously in the breeze.

Suddenly, there was the sound of hurried footsteps, and Xueya heard the door open.

“Why are you here?” someone asked.

The other person replied, “We’ve lost.”

“What did you say?” The first person’s voice rose sharply.

“He Xulan has been defeated.”

The first person seemed to be struck by a heavy blow, their voice trembling, “That’s impossible. He can’t lose! You must be lying!”

“The battle report from the front has already reached His Majesty. He Xulan’s army was completely routed, and he himself was captured alive. His Majesty has decreed that the soldiers escorting He Xulan take him to the Qingchang palace to serve as a laborer, never to leave Qingchang for the rest of his life.”

***

“Xueya, wake up. We need to get going.”

Xueya suddenly opened his eyes and, upon realizing it was He Xulan in front of him, immediately sat up and hugged him. “Brother!”

He Xulan paused for a moment, then hugged Xueya back. “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

A nightmare?

Yes, he had dreamt that He Xulan lost. Wait, he had dreamt that He Xulan was defeated.

Xueya froze completely. He Xulan called his name several times before he finally came back to his senses.

“Why that look? Was the dream really scary?” He Xulan picked up the clothes by the bedside and helped Xueya put them on. Afterward, seeing him still dazed, He Xulan frowned. “Xueya?”

Looking into He Xulan’s eyes, Xueya whimpered and began to cry.

***

Yi Yefeng, listening to the intermittent sounds of crying that had been going on all morning, silently picked up a nearby waterskin and threw it into the room. The sound startled He Xulan, but after realizing it was just a waterskin, he turned back and wiped the tears from Xueya’s face with a handkerchief.

“Does it hurt badly? Let me take a look,” He Xulan whispered into Xueya’s ear.

Xueya shook his head, then nodded, and finally sobbed, “It’s not because of that.”

“Then what is it?” He Xulan, seeing that Xueya wasn’t letting him check, handed him a cup of water instead. “Drink some water first.”

The moment Xueya saw the water cup, his crying stopped abruptly. He took the cup from He Xulan and slowly drank the whole thing before resuming his tears. He couldn’t explain to He Xulan why he was crying—it hurt too much inside.

He cried until he was completely drained, finally managing to stop. Exhausted, he climbed into He Xulan’s lap, his fox-like eyes now swollen from crying.

“Brother.”

“Hmm?”

“If you’re made to do hard labor, will you at least get enough to eat?”

He Xulan didn’t understand why Xueya was suddenly asking about labor, but he answered, “You should be able to eat enough.”

“Will there be meat every day?” Xueya asked again.

He Xulan thought for a moment. “Not necessarily.”

Hearing this, Xueya looked like he was about to cry again. He Xulan quickly patted his back to comfort him. “Alright, no more tears. If you keep crying, your eyes won’t be able to open—they’re already swollen. Do you want to see?”

“No!”

“Alright, no looking then. But you can’t cry anymore.”

Xueya tried hard to hold back his tears and whispered, “Brother, I have twenty-two pieces of gold. Let’s go to Jiangnan and buy a small house. If we’re careful with the rest of the gold, it should last us a long time.” He paused. “But it can only be you and me. We can’t take Yi Yefeng. He eats too much—I can’t afford to feed him.”

As he said “can’t afford to feed him,” Xueya couldn’t hold back his tears again.

Waaah, his gold.

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