I, The Substitute, Am With The Main Character Extra 4

His awkward attempt to cover up was so obvious that it was impossible not to notice, but He Xulan was feeling unwell and didn’t have the energy to tease Xueya. He simply pulled the boy closer, resting his face against Xueya’s neck.

Xueya carried a faint peach-like fragrance, a natural scent rather than from any perfume. He Xulan had always liked it, and smelling it seemed to ease his discomfort. He slightly turned his face, pressing his lips gently against Xueya’s neck.

Xueya froze for a moment at He Xulan’s action but soon hugged him back, secretly relieved that He Xulan hadn’t said anything. Otherwise, he would have died of embarrassment. He vowed never to do something like that again.

They traveled by boat for over a month before finally reaching Qing County. Since He Xulan wasn’t feeling well, they rested at an inn for two days before heading out. Returning to Qing County, Xueya’s mood was completely different from when he had left. Back then, he was filled with anxiety and fear for the future. Now, he was returning home in full glory.

Qing County was the land that had given birth to and raised him, a place Xueya both loved and hated. He loved the willows in spring, the lotus flowers that bloomed in summer, and the evergreens in autumn and winter. In the capital, when winter arrived, all the trees became bare and unattractive.

But he also hated this place. Ever since he was a child, he had dreamed of taking his mother away from here.

He had left, but his mother was now buried here forever.

Xueya’s mother’s grave was simple and unremarkable. They had no family tomb; it was just a solitary mound on a hillside. Since Xueya had been away for several years, the mound was now overgrown with weeds.

Xueya refused the help of the palace attendants, opting to take a small sickle and cut the grass himself. Halfway through, he grew so tired that his waist began to ache, forcing him to squat down and stare at the wooden grave marker, its inscription now faded and blurred from years of rain.

“Guan Guan, f you don’t mind, I can help you,” He Xulan said, crouching beside Xueya and gently massaging his sore waist.

Xueya turned to look at He Xulan and suddenly said, “My mother was very beautiful and loved cleanliness. When I was still here, I used to come twice a year to tidy up her grave.”

“I know,” He Xulan replied softly.

Xueya lowered his head and handed the small sickle to He Xulan.

He Xulan worked much faster than Xueya, quickly clearing away all the weeds. Once the area was cleaned, Xueya asked the palace attendants to bring over a box of gold jewelry and another box of rouge and powders he had prepared. He intended to bury these treasures with his mother, but He Xulan stopped him.

“Even though we avoided people on our way up the mountain, there were still hunters and woodcutters who saw us. If they notice the disturbed soil here, they might suspect something valuable is buried and disturb your mother’s peace.”

Xueya panicked. “Then… what should I do? I brought these things especially for her. My mother had nothing when she passed away. If someone takes these away, I… I…”

His eyes turned red as he spoke. Seeing this, He Xulan ordered the palace attendants to turn around before pulling Xueya into his arms. After Xueya’s emotions had calmed a bit, He Xulan gently suggested, “How about we move your mother’s grave to the capital? That way, it’ll be easier to pay your respects in the future.”

“Move her to the capital?” Xueya was stunned.

“Yes, we can move her. There’s a person among our traveling party who is responsible for such matters. They will ensure that your mother is transported safely to the capital,” He Xulan added. “But if you don’t want that, it’s fine too. We can restore her grave here and assign someone to guard it.”

“I want to move her!” Xueya made his decision almost without hesitation. To his mother, Qing County had been a cruel place. She had grown up here and died here, never having lived a single happy day. He didn’t want her to remain here any longer.

He Xulan said, “Alright, then we’ll bring mother with us to the capital.”

At first, Xueya nodded, but then he suddenly looked up at He Xulan, staring at him for a long moment before asking in disbelief, “Brother, what did you just say?”

“I said we’ll bring Mother to the capital with us. Now that we’re together, your mother naturally becomes my mother as well,” He Xulan repeated, as though he had already guessed what Xueya was thinking. His light brown eyes reflected Xueya’s figure calmly.

To Xueya, He Xulan was like an invincible armor, shielding him and driving away all dangers. As long as He Xulan was there, Xueya felt safe. When he was a child, Xueya had no father. Sometimes, when he saw men outside the building taking their children out, he would feel envious. He thought, if he had a father, his father would surely chase away all the bad people who bullied him and his mother.

He didn’t know where his father was, or even if he was alive or dead. When he was younger, he had thought about finding his father when he grew up, but after his mother passed away, he never thought about it again.

Now that he was with He Xulan, it was as if he had a father after all. There was someone who cared for him, pampered him, helped him arrange everything, and was even kind to his mother.

No, He Xulan was a thousand times, ten thousand times better than his so-called father. His father had despised his mother for being a courtesan, considered her status too low, and refused to acknowledge them, leaving them to suffer in brothels. He had never even come back to check on them.

In fact, when his father visited the brothel, he used a fake name and identity. Even until her death, his mother never knew the real name of the man she had sacrificed so much for, nor where he lived.

He Xulan came from a noble family, far more prestigious than that cheap father of his, yet He Xulan, because of his love for Xueya, could call a courtesan-born woman his mother.

“Brother!” Xueya didn’t want to cry, but he couldn’t hold back his tears. He clung tightly to He Xulan and wept bitterly in front of his mother’s grave.

Mother, look, we’ve finally met someone who treats us well. Don’t worry about me. Our lives are going to get better and better.

***

The matter of relocating his mother’s grave was significant, and because Xueya and his mother’s lowly status also needed to be changed, it would take a few days. Xueya was fine, but his mother’s records were old, and the local magistrate had to dig through stacks of documents to find them.

That night, Xueya curled up in He Xulan’s arms, feeling a bit drained after crying earlier. He tossed and turned in He Xulan’s embrace until he found a comfortable position.

“Brother,” he called softly.

“Hmm?” He Xulan’s eyes lowered, glowing in the candlelight like the glazed glass brought by foreign envoys, shimmering with light.

“I have a few old friends from the Red Moon House who used to take good care of me. Could we buy their freedom? They’re getting older, and there’s no good future for them in the brothel. I think if they had some money to start a small business, their lives would definitely be better than staying in that place.”

“Of course.”

When Xueya had left the brothel, he had wanted to return one day to show off his success to everyone. But now that he was older, he no longer wanted to do something so petty.

However, he certainly wasn’t going to buy freedom for the people who had bullied him back then.

As Xueya thought about who else he could help, he suddenly remembered a kind stranger he had met when he was eight years old, when his mother had been gravely ill.

He couldn’t recall what the man looked like, only that he was tall and young, a boyish figure. The man had seen him crying by the roadside and stopped to ask why.

When Xueya explained that he didn’t have money to treat his mother, the kind stranger had handed him a bag of silver. Though the silver was later stolen by a beggar, he had never forgotten that person’s kindness.

“Brother, is there a way to find someone from eleven years ago? Eleven years ago, someone gave me a large bag of silver to help my mother, and I want to find him to repay that money.” Xueya looked at He Xulan hopefully, wishing for a solution.

But when He Xulan heard this, his expression turned thoughtful. After a moment, he asked, “Eleven years ago? Wasn’t there a snow disaster here that year?”

Qing County was a southern town, and snow disasters were rare. Xueya remembered that year vividly and was surprised. “Brother, how do you know that?”

“I think I’ve been here before.”

Eleven years ago, He Xulan had been sent by the court to Jiangnan to provide disaster relief. During his journey, he had stopped in Qing County for a day. Because his stay was brief, he hadn’t remembered much about the place. If Xueya hadn’t mentioned someone giving him a large sum of silver, He Xulan might not have recalled that he had visited Qing County.

It was likely that the person who had given Xueya the silver was He Xulan himself. He had indeed given a crying child by the roadside a bag of silver that year. He had been in a hurry to reach the next town, so he hadn’t realized that the bag contained not only silver but also a protective charm his mother had obtained for him from Qianfo Temple.

The charm had his birth date and time written on it, so he couldn’t give it away. But by the time he remembered, he had already left Qing County and couldn’t go back to retrieve it.

“Guan Guan, do you remember anything about that money bag?” He Xulan asked cautiously.

Xueya thought hard for a moment and then shook his head. “I don’t remember the pattern, but I think there was something yellow inside besides the silver.”

Since it wasn’t silver, Xueya had taken the yellow object out. Because he had removed it, it hadn’t been stolen by the beggar. When his mother was buried, she had no personal belongings, so Xueya had buried that yellow object with her.

When Xueya’s mother was exhumed to be moved to the capital, her original coffin could no longer be used, and she was transferred to a sandalwood coffin. As expected, the workers found the protective charm by her bones and handed it to He Xulan.

After eleven years, the charm was in poor condition, but when opened, the name and birth date written inside were still faintly legible.

Xueya leaned in to look as well. Now that he could read, he saw the name “He Xulan” written on it and was speechless for a long time.

He Xulan gently rubbed the writing with his finger and, after a moment, couldn’t help but chuckle.

Some things really were destined.

Back then, He Xulan had seen many crying people along the road, but Xueya was the only one he had given money to. He had done so because Xueya’s crying was particularly unattractive. When most people begged for money, especially when they realized the person in front of them was a wealthy young man, they cried with a certain grace. But Xueya’s crying was different—his eyes were swollen and red, and there was nothing beautiful about it. Worst of all, He Xulan had seen a bubble of snot form and burst as he cried, leaving snot hanging under his nose.

He Xulan had very high standards for beauty, and this scene had left a lasting impact. After asking Xueya why he was crying, he had handed him the money bag and even used his own handkerchief to wipe away the snot that was about to drip into Xueya’s mouth.

He hadn’t thought much about it at the time, only that he desperately wanted the child to stop crying. If he didn’t, He Xulan wouldn’t have been able to eat his dinner that night.

As he walked away, He Xulan had thought, “How can anyone cry so terribly?”

And yet, that same child had told him he wanted to sell himself to repay him.

***

After recovering from the shock that He Xulan was the same young man who had given him money all those years ago, Xueya’s eyes filled with tears again. But before He Xulan could comfort him, Xueya hugged him tightly and said, “Brother, I may not have a father, but you’re just like my father! I finally have a father!”

He Xulan: “…”