Late at night, the back door of the Su residence quietly opened a crack.
Dressed in a plain gauze robe and wearing a small round cap, Su Xiaojing slipped out the door, entered a secluded back alley, and brushed past the night watchman beating his clapper. Dressed like an ordinary servant, he attracted no attention and quickly disappeared into the night of the capital.
The night watchman walked to the end of the alley behind the Su residence, pushed open a door, and entered an inconspicuous small courtyard. Removing his bamboo hat, he said to a man in blue sitting under a tree wiping a blade, “That fellow just left the residence.”
The man in blue looked up, it was none other than Shen Qi, the current Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
“Is he being watched?”
Gao Shuo, disguised as the night watchman, replied, “Rest assured, my lord. There are agents watching along the entire route. Even if he just goes out to catch a cricket, the brothers can tell what color it is and how it chirps.”
Shen Qi nodded slightly. “The court had just sent a messenger to summon Qi Jingtang, and someone in Dengzhou moved first to assassinate him, it’s too much of a coincidence. Even if Qi Jingtang has many enemies in Dengzhou, assassins capable of infiltrating a heavily guarded garrison, well-trained and all using swords, are not common. I’ve long suspected a leak. After thinking it through, aside from the possibility of informants within the court passing messages, there’s another possibility, when Qinghe told me he planned to employ Qi Jingtang, there were more than just the two of us present.”
“The Su household servants were there too? But those two servants were bought young and trained by Lord Su. They’ve even shared hardships and life-and-death moments in Shaanxi. They seem deeply loyal, doesn’t seem like…” Gao Shuo hesitated.
Shen Qi curled his lips into a cold smile. “Human hearts are complex and ever-changing. Yesterday’s state of mind is not necessarily the same as tomorrow’s. Besides, before ‘deep affection,’ aren’t there the words ‘master and servant’? If one wishes to overturn that hierarchy, no matter how deep the affection, it cannot withstand desire.”
Gao Shuo said, “If Su Xiaojing goes again tonight to that residence in the eastern outer city, then it proves that household truly has issues, not merely the wealthy family it appears to be on the surface.”
Shen Qi instructed, “Continue investigating. Not only the master of that household, but all their servants, as well as tenant farmers and hired laborers, dig into everything.”
After acknowledging, Gao Shuo asked again, “What about Su Xiaojing?”
Shen Qi said, “Do not alert him yet. Have people watch him around the clock. I want to see whether this servant has been bought off, or if he was a piece planted by the other side long ago.”
“Judging by your tone, my lord, it seems you already have some idea of who the other party might be?”
Shen Qi did not answer. He simply blew lightly across the gleaming blade he had just polished, tilting his ear to listen to the faint vibrating hum.
Gao Shuo clasped his fists. “Since my lord has a plan and does not wish to reveal it, I will not ask further. If there are any tasks, please give the order.”
Shen Qi glanced at the dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and suddenly asked, “You still haven’t slept with that woman?”
A trace of a bitter smile appeared on Gao Shuo’s face. “Miss Ruan has long moved out of her rented place and started her own business. This month her new shop has opened; they say she’s selling something rare called ‘flavoring essence,’ and business is excellent. She’s now the boss lady, busy all day long, with no time to exchange more than a few words with me.”
A young woman appearing in public, and one who had come from a brothel, even if she had shed that status, still attracted the attention of many street ruffians. Gao Shuo had secretly helped resolve those troubles, but he had not told Ruan Hongjiao, for fear she might think he was seeking repayment for his kindness.
But no matter how busy Ruan Hongjiao was, as long as he showed up at her door carrying fish, she would, without fail, set aside whatever she was doing that very night and personally cook him a full banquet of fish. After they finished eating together, she would send him away without the slightest reluctance.
It had been exactly two years since Ruan Hongjiao left the brothel, and Gao Shuo still could not be certain whether she had any romantic feelings for him at all, let alone whether she would ever sleep with him or marry him.
Shen Qi looked at Gao Shuo with an expression that said he was beyond saving, suspecting that this old subordinate of his was probably a eunuch.
Being stared at by his superior made goosebumps rise all over Gao Shuo. He forced a smile and said, “If I can’t enter her heart, then even if I forcefully sleep with her, there’s not much point, is there?”
Shen Qi said, “If you don’t sleep with her, forget entering her heart, you won’t even reach the doorstep.”
Gao Shuo very much wanted to complain, Lord Su, you’ve already slept your way in, and you’ve entered his heart too, but it’s pretty crowded in there… Looking at it this way, you’re not much better off than I am. But even if you beat him to death, he would never dare say such a thing, for fear that Shen Qi would skin him alive.
All he could do was sigh. “As long as one perseveres, an iron pestle can be ground into a needle. I hope that one day Miss Ruan will finally be moved by me.”
Shen Qi said, “Then keep grinding your iron pestle. I won’t concern myself with this matter anymore.” He stood up and sheathed his blade. Before walking out of the courtyard gate, he added one more instruction. “Also, keep a close eye on Zhao Shizhen from the Heavenly Works Academy, the one who works on firearms. I think Qinghe values him quite highly. If he gets caught up in this, Qinghe will probably find it deeply regrettable.”
“My lord, are you returning to the Northern Surveillance Bureau? This subordinate will accompany you,” Gao Shuo said behind him.
Shen Qi shook his head, left through the alley, and vaulted over the wall into the courtyard of the Su residence.
Gao Shuo very much wanted to ask whether he knew that Lord Su had only returned from the palace after nightfall. If things continued between the two of them in this half-hidden, half-open fashion, would His Majesty come to regard him as a thorn in his side?
But in the end, he never voiced the question.
Shen Qi not only knew that Su Yan had returned from the palace after nightfall, he also knew that the doors of the Hall of Ancestral Worship had remained tightly shut for a full hour, and that Su Yan had changed into a fresh set of clothes before leaving the palace. But what could he do? When Emperor Jinglong was alive, he had been a subject to be suppressed and used. Now that Emperor Qinghe had taken the throne, his official rank was even higher, yet he was still nothing more than a subject.
“…You see now? This is your fate. Unless you can completely overturn the Dragon Throne itself, it makes no difference to you which of that father-and-son pair sits upon it.” In the darkness, Feng Qu’e’s sinister whisper sounded eerily.
Shen Qi had long since become numb to the “restless spirit” that appeared from time to time. He could not even be bothered to drive it away. With a grim expression, he walked through the corridor. When he reached Su Yan’s door, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The coldness instantly faded from his face. He raised a hand and knocked.
A moment later, Su Yan came to open the door with an outer robe draped over his shoulders. Shen Qi looked at him and smiled faintly.
Surprised and delighted, Su Yan said, “When did Qilang arrive? Why didn’t anyone inform me?”
As Shen Qi walked into the room, he replied, “That bandit of a bodyguard of yours isn’t here. Who else in this residence could possibly notice me?”
Su Yan closed the door and turned around. “Ah Zhui went to help investigate the murderer who used venomous snakes to kill the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Why hasn’t he returned yet? Nothing’s happened to him, has it?”
Shen Qi set his saber and official hat on the table and undid his belt as well. “Given his level of martial skill, let alone in the martial world, there are only a handful of people in all of Great Ming who could match him. But you’re showing concern for another man right in front of me. Are you trying to provoke me into being even more energetic tonight?”
Su Yan’s old face reddened. “Nothing of the sort. Today there was court assembly, then I spent the whole day running around inside and outside the palace. Right now all I want is to rest.”
After thinking it over, Shen Qi said, “All right. Get a good night’s sleep tonight, and we’ll talk tomorrow morning. Shall I have someone prepare hot water so you can bathe?”
“No need. Before leaving the palace I’d already bathed, ” Su Yan suddenly cut himself off. Smiling a little awkwardly, he continued, “Because I had another cat’s scent on me, Huali got very angry when she smelled it. To avoid getting scratched, I bathed and changed clothes at the palace.”
Just because of the cat? With his back to Su Yan, Shen Qi’s eyes turned deep and icy. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he extended a hand toward him. “Come here.”
Su Yan walked over. Shen Qi grabbed him into his embrace in one swift motion, pulling him onto his lap. Su Yan could not help drawing a soft breath.
Wrapping both arms around Su Yan’s waist, Shen Qi stared unblinkingly into his face and asked, “What exactly do you think of Zhu Helin?”
Su Yan froze. “Think? I… hope he becomes a wise ruler of a flourishing age, one who can strengthen the nation, allow the people to live in peace, and also help me realize the ambitions in my heart.”
“Is that all?”
“Uh… I also hope he lives this entire life in health and happiness, and that father and son are reunited as soon as possible.”
“What else?”
“…Nothing else.”
Shen Qi was silent for a moment before saying, “If there’s anything you can’t face with your own strength alone, tell me. No matter how difficult it is, we’ll solve it together. But you absolutely must not hide things from me or deceive me.”
Was there some deeper meaning behind those words? Su Yan suddenly remembered the candlelight filtering through the red gauze bed curtains in the Hall of Ancestral Worship; remembered that urgent, yearning kiss; remembered the young emperor’s eyes above his open collar, filled with love and desire… Should he tell Shen Qi that Zhu Helin’s youthful passion, and his plea for Su Yan to accept him, had once again been rejected?
An intense reluctance suddenly welled up within Su Yan. He had already failed Zhu Helin’s feelings, how could he bear to tear open the other’s wound and display it before yet another person?
Lowering his eyes, Su Yan said, “There’s really nothing. And if you ever encounter something that you can’t handle with your own strength alone, you must tell me too. Don’t hide things from me or deceive me.”
It was merely a casually repeated sentence, yet it unexpectedly turned the tables. The muscles across Shen Qi’s shoulders and back stiffened for a moment before slowly relaxing. In a low voice, he said, “I know.”
“Qilang, do you remember the night before I went to Shaanxi for the second time? You asked me what would happen if there were something you kept from me. My answer was that as long as it was the result of careful deliberation on your part, after weighing the pros and cons, and you could ultimately bear the consequences, then it was something that, in your heart, you believed you absolutely had to do. Whether I knew about it or not, I would never stand in the way of something you truly wanted to do.”
Out of habit, Su Yan stroked his back, his fingers rubbing over the scars of varying depths through the fabric.
“Qilang, I truly want to spend the rest of my life with you. So if certain feelings become an obstacle to us being together, I will do my utmost to erase them. Likewise, if certain decisions would create a divide between us in our convictions, then I ask you to think them through carefully before you act.”
Shen Qi fell silent once more.
Immediately after, he tightly hugged Su Yan, gritting his teeth, breathing long and heavy.
“Qilang?”
“…” How difficult is it for people in love to always remain honest with each other? Perhaps even harder than staying together for a lifetime. Shen Qi realized this for the first time.
“Qilang?” Concern showed in Su Yan’s voice as he also held him tightly.
Shen Qi let out a long breath and said, “It’s nothing. I was overthinking, shouldn’t have brought up such spoiling words at a time like this. You’ve been tired all day too, rest.”
This seemed to be the only time after confirming their feelings that he and Shen Qi slept in the same bed without any substantive relationship taking place, there wasn’t even a deep kiss. They simply lay close together, arm against arm, fingers hooked with fingers.
Neither of them spoke, as if both were enjoying this intimacy where silence spoke louder than words.
Su Yan fell asleep amid the surging drowsiness. In the hazy moment before sleep, he seemed to hear Shen Qi say something to him,
***
That night, Zhu Helin soaked in the hot spring pool for half an hour. During that time, he used Fifth Miss once, and found himself completely normal.
His virility was still intact, so what had happened with that previous embarrassment? He puzzled over it endlessly, and in the end could only attribute it to finally being able to get close to Qinghe; his emotions had been too excited and impatient, which instead affected his performance.
Since there was nothing wrong, he let out a long breath of relief and got up to dress.
Several palace maids stood by the pool holding fresh clothes and bath towels, waiting. Zhu Helin had been served by others since childhood, so he didn’t feel anything unusual about it, calmly displaying his body. Unwilling in his heart, he thought: this time was just an accident, I must find another chance to try again with Qinghe.
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