Chapter 43 Returning to the Capital: "He even carried her when she dismounted; Little Nineteen was sleeping soundly in His Majesty's arms."

The carriage swayed and rattled along the official road back to the capital, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed. Along the way, the small bridges and flowing water of Jiangnan disappeared, and the trees by the roadside went from being lush and leafy to just sprouting tender buds.

Spring has arrived in Beijing for over a month now.

The food that Han Siwen had brought had been almost finished by the group, but they were now very close to the capital, and it seemed they would arrive in just one more day. The group stopped at an inn to rest.

Even if they don't need to rest, the horses still need to eat grass.

Yao Ruyi changed into another white robe. Actually, all his clothes were pretty much the same; he wore several different white robes in rotation.

He thought of Chen Zhuyue and Xunyang, whom he had encountered again at the city gate of Jiangzhou before returning to the capital. He was surprised that the two knew each other. He was surprised but also pleased. Xunyang was very knowledgeable and was thinking of opening a school in Jiangzhou. It was only a matter of time before the two met.

It seems that Chen Zhuyue will be teaching at the school for a while.

"Nineteen." Lan Yan sat down beside Yao Ruyi, holding a scroll in his hand. The closer they got to the capital, the deeper the worry between his brows became. Xu Yi had come to talk to Yao Ruyi about this matter yesterday.

"You still think we handled this trip poorly?"

Yao Ruyi held a small twig in his hand and drew circles on the ground. In just over ten days, the wound on his neck was no longer visible. The silk ribbon made of moonlight brocade was tied around his waist and blended in with his belt, making it unrecognizable.

After a long silence, Lan Yan nodded, "...Yes."

Yao Ruyi nodded, unsure if he had done the right thing. Deng Zeyu was certainly wrong to sell grain at a high price, but they weren't government officials either…

"If he doesn't follow the rules, why should we follow them?" Yao Ruyi was puzzled. Although he also felt confused, he wasn't as conflicted as Lan Yan. The outcome was good, and they hadn't harmed any innocent people.

“This…” Lan Yan was taken aback; he had never considered this.

That's right. Deng Zeyu's actions were despicable, and they were simply giving him a taste of his own medicine. Suddenly feeling relieved, Lan Yan smiled for the first time in days. "Thank you, Lord Nineteen." He smiled helplessly, "I've always been a law-abiding citizen, and it's inevitable that I tend to be rigid in my thinking."

Yao Ruyi smiled.

"I haven't received any letters from the capital for more than ten days, so I'm feeling uneasy."

Lan Yan's words were exactly what Yao Ruyi wanted to hear. He hadn't expected that after being away from the capital for more than a month, he would only receive one sentence from the emperor. Now that he was getting closer and closer to the capital, he still hadn't heard anything, not even a reply concerning Deng Zeyu.

"Fine."

Lan Yan prepared to get up and check on the horses. "Yesterday, Miss Siwen wrote a letter. The newly appointed magistrate of Jiangzhou City is also a scholar who passed the imperial examination two years ago. He is more efficient than me. He also arrested Deng Zeyu and more than a dozen other vendors who were selling grain at high prices."

Lan Yan asked with a smile, "Do you know what the charge is?"

Curious, Yao Ruyi asked, "Why?"

Lan Yan chuckled helplessly, "Because of the unwarranted sale of gourd pendants."

The same pretext used to extricate them was used to arrest them again. "The new magistrate didn't give them a chance to explain. They were supposed to be a rice shop, but they were using it as an excuse to sell gourd pendants. Their intentions were truly sinister."

What could be the motive behind selling just a gourd pendant?

Yao Ruyi's lips curled up; he found it amusing. "Hidden motives?"

"Yes, because of Old Master Qiao's matter, many shops selling bonsai in Jiangzhou City have been thoroughly investigated by the government several times. As a result, the rice shop selling gourd pendants has been completely imprisoned. I don't know how long they will be locked up."

Yao Ruyi chuckled, "That would be wonderful."

Although the Qiao family's actions were unexpected, they had still been helpful. Yao Ruyi recalled the scene when Qiao Yu waved goodbye to him at the tavern on his way back to the capital, the emotions in her eyes that he couldn't understand.

If he couldn't figure it out, so be it. Now that he was about to return to the capital, Yao Ruyi's mood improved day by day, and he was finally able to sleep on his own golden nanmu bed.

The group rested at the post station for an hour, and at dusk they stopped at the foot of a mountain outside the capital. By daybreak, they had traveled for a day and arrived in the capital.

As evening fell, the carriage slowly came to a stop at the foot of a mountain outside the capital. Yao Ruyi looked at it and found it familiar. He asked Thirteen, "Is this the mountain where the bandits used to live?"

Thirteen raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Nineteen has a good memory. He’s already under the watch of the government, so the bandits have no chance.”

He helped Yao Ruyi light the oil lamp. These past few days, the group had been sleeping in the carriage. Although the space wasn't large, it was at least a place to relax.

The dim light of the oil lamp illuminated a small area inside the carriage.

"Go to sleep early, we're heading back to the capital first thing tomorrow morning." Thirteen found a comfortable position and leaned against the carriage window. "We need to inform His Majesty about what's been happening lately. The fields in Jiangzhou City will ripen one more time than the fields in the capital, and things in the capital will soon improve as well."

The two smiled at each other, and Yao Ruyi finished packing up and blew out the oil lamp.

During the day, he found the carriage ride boring, so he rode a horse for a while. He also rode a horse on the way to Jiangzhou City, having deliberately added several layers of clothing to his legs, almost resulting in chafing. Now, with the carriage, he forgot about that. At this moment, the insides of his legs felt warm, and even the slightest movement caused a stinging, burning sensation.

The slight stretch caused the mushroom to wrinkle its face.

Yao Ruyi moved slowly, afraid of waking Thirteen.

Thinking that walking around might make him feel better, he saw that Thirteen was sleeping soundly before slowly getting up, gently lifting the curtain of the carriage, and walking out.

The mountains and fields here were much more lush than when they passed by a month ago. Back then, the leaves were just budding, but now they had grown into a vibrant green. The verdant greenery spread across the mountaintops, and beyond that lay a valley between two deep mountains, which he couldn't see clearly from his current position at the foot of the mountain.

But the scene in the cave at that time came to mind: a bottomless cliff below, and the cold wind blowing on my face, I didn't know where it was coming from.

"Hoo—" He let out a long breath. The air in Jiangnan was humid, but the air in the capital was clear. He took two steps up the mountain, reached into his chest and took out the porcelain bottle. He left the wound powder and ointment for Eleven, whose injuries were much more serious than his.

But this bottle contains the emperor's blood, and no one can receive it.

There were only three pills left in the bottle. Yao Ruyi smelled them and realized they weren't as fragrant as they used to be. He reached out to take one out.

"Swoosh—" The sound of a longsword slicing through the air seemed to create a crack in the landscape. Yao Ruyi dropped the porcelain bottle in his hand, quickly dodging as Frost Moon appeared in his hand in an instant. "Clang—"

The two longswords clashed together, the reverberation making my wrist numb.

Yao Ruyi's sharp eyebrows and cold eyes widened as he looked up at the person opposite him.

The man's eyes were smiling, his long, black hair cascading down his back, a silver hair ornament adorned with red beads that shimmered faintly in the moonlight. His red robe was slightly thinner than it had been a month ago, and he wasn't wearing a fox fur coat. His slender waist was accentuated by a belt, and the red outer robe hung loosely on his body. He toyed with the sword in his hand. He looked up and met Yao Ruyi's gaze. "Little Nineteen, come here."

"His Majesty!"

The two were only an arm's length apart. Yao Ruyi looked at the person in front of her with delight. "Why is Your Majesty here?" Her eyes seemed brighter than the stars in the sky. She raised her head slightly to look at the man, her joy undisguised, which startled Gu Huizhou.

His lips curled up even more. "Let's take a look around."

Yao Ruyi was still immersed in the joy of meeting Gu Huizhou, "I was thinking that I could only see His Majesty when I returned to the capital tomorrow."

"What's wrong, Your Majesty? You miss me?"

Without hesitation, Yao Ruyi nodded, "Of course I want to." This was the first time he had been separated from the emperor for a month and ten days, how could he not miss him?

The hand holding the cinnabar string paused, a slight pause in expression, and a hint of smugness appeared on the smile on the face. "Then why didn't you write to me?"

Speaking of the letter, Mushroom immediately felt dissatisfied, "Why doesn't His Majesty reply to my letter?"

Gu Huizhou: "..."

"I said it, I gave the order."

Everything he had done in Jiangzhou City had been tacitly approved by the emperor. Yao Ruyi said calmly, "Oh." He took a step back and picked up the bottle from the ground. Fortunately, the bottle opening was small, and the pills didn't fall out when it hit the ground.

Just as he was about to take it out again, Gu Huizhou murmured, "Tsk."

Yao Ruyi looked up. "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Gu Huizhou raised an eyebrow, "Not finished eating yet?"

Mushroom smiled, his eyes crinkling wide when he laughed. If Gu Huizhou didn't know he was a mushroom spirit, he would have thought he was a fox in human form. "There are three left."

His proud tone was like that of a child who hadn't finished the candy he bought last time.

Gu Huizhou glanced at it lightly, "Don't eat it."

"But, um—"

Before Yao Ruyi could finish speaking, something was stuffed into his mouth, warm and smelling of blood.

Gu Huizhou had cut his finger at some point. He put his finger in Yao Ruyi's mouth, a smile playing on his lips. Seeing the other's dazed expression, he hooked his finger up with a malicious grin.

I came across something soft.

Yao Ruyi was stunned. He felt his cheeks getting hotter and hotter, and he quickly took a step back. The emperor's fingers froze in mid-air. He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the wound is healed."

Gu Huizhou looked over and, sure enough, the wound on his hand, about the size of a copper coin, seemed to be non-existent. He chuckled and said, "Let's go."

Where to?

"Go back to Beijing."

Gu Huizhou walked towards the foot of the mountain, where a large black horse was tied up. When the emperor led it over, it held its head high with an arrogant air, its half-fist-sized eyes seeming to be sizing up the person in front of it.

Yao Ruyi said, "My horse is over there, Your Majesty, please wait."

However, he turned around but didn't move. The white cloth strip around his waist was hooked by the man. "I'll take you." With that, the man mounted his horse with clean and swift movements. He sat on the horse and looked down at the white-robed youth below, urging, "Come here."

Yao Ruyi nodded, reached out and placed her hand in the emperor's palm. With a sudden pull, the emperor was lifted onto the horse's back, letting out a cry of pain, "Ugh—"

Gu Huizhou frowned. "What are you doing?"

Leaning against the emperor's chest, Yao Ruyi shifted uncomfortably, about to move again, when someone suddenly grabbed her waist. Yao Ruyi turned her head and said, "My legs hurt."

Gu Huizhou loosened his grip and frowned. "What happened?"

Yao Ruyi whispered about how she had forgotten to add fabric, her voice getting softer and softer as she spoke.

"Heh," a soft laugh made Yao Ruyi look up instantly, meeting the emperor's eyes with displeasure. He was already embarrassed at the end, and this person actually laughed at him.

"Don't move." Gu Huizhou reached out and grabbed Yao Ruyi's waist. With Gu Huizhou's force, Yao Ruyi was suddenly turned around on the horse, sitting sideways. Startled, he widened his eyes and quickly reached out to hug Gu Huizhou's neck, "Your Majesty—"

Under the man's control, the black horse turned its head, and Yao Ruyi immediately lay on the man's chest. He gripped Gu Huizhou's clothes tightly, afraid that he would fall off if he didn't.

In the blink of an eye, the two were getting further and further away from the carriage. Yao Ruyi said, "I have to tell them."

Gu Huizhou reached out and pulled the person into his arms. "Giddy up!"

The wind whistled past his ears. He looked at the person in front of him getting closer and his lips curled up unintentionally. "Hmm," he said, then released the reins with his right hand. To Yao Ruyi's astonishment, a throwing knife flew out of his sleeve and stuck straight into the carriage wall.

Seeing the man grasp the reins again, Yao Ruyi finally breathed a sigh of relief. The scenery on both sides kept changing, and the mountains and fields were getting farther and farther away from them. The emperor's outer robe wrapped Yao Ruyi in it, and he could smell the rich incense on the emperor.

"His Majesty."

Their voices were muffled by the wind, but because they were so close, Ruyi, with her face pressed against the man's shoulder, could hear the vibrations from his chest, as if he were saying, "Mmm."

"Your Majesty, wouldn't it be more convenient if I turned into a mushroom?"

His eyes shone brightly, as if he were smug about having come up with such a brilliant idea.

But when faced with Gu Huizhou's complicated gaze, Yao Ruyi shut up and obediently leaned on his shoulder. His hand tightened around her waist and abdomen, and she gradually stopped worrying about falling off.

He was still cushioned by the emperor's robe, swaying gently on his horse. Amidst the whistling wind and the sound of hooves, his eyes slowly closed.

As the morning mist dissipated, a black steed entered through a side gate of the palace, turned several corners, and slowly came to a stop in front of the Cloud Hall.

Cui Xiangzhu waited in the same spot for quite some time. He saw the emperor riding towards him from afar and quickly stopped to wait.

As the man drew closer, he saw clearly who the emperor was holding in front of him. It was none other than the Nineteenth Prince, who was asleep in His Majesty's arms.

The head eunuch's face broke into wrinkles from smiling.

Gu Huizhou jumped off the horse with the person in his arms, and the black horse turned around and was led away to graze. Cui Xiangzhu followed behind the two and whispered, "Hot water and snacks have been prepared in the palace."

"Um."

Snap—

The door closed in front of the chief eunuch. Cui Xiangzhu hesitated, glancing at the sky. The officials who had attended court should have already entered the palace. For His Majesty to return and close the door at this time...

We'll have to miss the morning court session.

He quickly beckoned to a few eunuchs, "You few go and tell the kitchen staff to hurry up and make some of those pastries that the palace has been researching recently, and give them to the officials at the morning court."

"Yes." The young eunuch turned to leave. Cui Xiangzhu quickly instructed, "Don't forget to serve tea!"

He let out a long sigh after saying that. He's been living like this every day. But it's good that the Nineteenth Prince is back. His Majesty will have someone to keep him company now. Otherwise, who knows how many of those stone sculptures in the Cloud Palace would have to be replaced.

With a smile playing on his lips, Cui Xiangzhu slowly turned around.

At the same time, the door opened, and Cui Xiangzhu was startled. "Your Majesty!" Gu Huizhou, dressed in a dragon robe, came out of the Cloud Palace and quietly closed the door. "Let's go."

Cui Xiangzhu followed behind with his head down, "Yes, yes!"

He watched the emperor stride forward and couldn't help but think to himself, "Is His Majesty in such a hurry to go to court and deal with those officials who only talk nonsense, so that he can have a good time with the Nineteenth Prince when he gets back?"

Yes, he'll have to have Xiao Dezi remove the tea later, to see if they still have time to think about anything else while their mouths are full of snacks.

When Yao Ruyi woke up again, he was already on his golden nanmu bed. His outer robe had been taken off, and he was now wearing a white silk inner garment, lying in the brocade quilt. His face was not on the pillow, and he was so comfortable in the quilt that he did not want to move.

squeak--

Yao Ruyi looked up and saw the emperor walk in from the roof. He stared at the emperor's bright yellow dragon robe and saw Gu Huizhou standing in front of his bed. "Your Majesty."

The emperor rarely wore dragon robes; he always preferred to wear black or red brocade. But now, the bright yellow dragon robe he wore made Gu Huizhou look even more majestic. He stood silently in front of the bed and smiled when he saw that Yao Ruyi showed no intention of getting up.

The emperor was standing, while he was lying down.

Mushroom, comfortably lying on the bed, didn't feel anything was amiss. He smiled and said, "Your Majesty looks handsome in the dragon robe."

Gu Huizhou snorted, sat on the edge of the bed, and reached out to pull over a strip of moonlight brocade draped by the window. "What's this?"

“Here,” he pointed to his neck, which was now completely healed, “there was a very small wound, but it’s already healed.”

Gu Huizhou responded, then, as if remembering something, he reached out, "Give me the medicine."

Yao Ruyi, who was lying on the bed, had just turned over happily when he heard these words. He froze. Hadn't he already given them to him? Why were they taking them back? His mood instantly somber. "They're gone."

That's it?

Gu Huizhou frowned.

He looked the person up and down, thinking that he shouldn't have let that stupid mushroom go. He didn't have much flesh on his body, and he didn't know where he had such a big injury that he could use up a whole bottle of ointment.

Gu Huizhou looked displeased. "Where are you hurt?"

"Huh?" Yao Ruyi sat up. "It wasn't for me. I gave it to Eleven. He has more wounds." For some reason, those people always liked to surround Eleven and Thirteen when they were beating him, even though he was the one who didn't bleed.

Turning her head, she saw the emperor return with another porcelain bottle and asked, "Is it also medicine for injuries?"

"Okay, stretch your legs out."

It had been more than a month since spring arrived in the capital, and the room was no longer cold, but Yao Ruyi hesitated to stick his legs out. He mumbled, "I can wipe myself."

"Hmph." Gu Huizhou completely ignored what he was saying, sitting by the window and silently staring at Yao Ruyi.

In an instant, Mushroom was pulled away, revealing a pair of long, slender, fair legs, with only a pair of white underpants still on.

The man grabbed Yao Ruyi's ankle with his large hand and forcefully spread her legs apart. Two red marks appeared on the inside of her thighs from riding a horse for a long time. Gu Huizhou sighed, "So delicate."

Yao Ruyi was indignant. He was a mushroom in human form, and mushrooms are creatures that break easily when torn. He was already doing quite well in human form. "Ugh—"

The man applied the ointment to Yao Ruyi's leg with his hands. The cold ointment made Yao Ruyi groan softly as it stuck to his leg. He instinctively shrank back, but his ankle was still being held in the man's hand. He could only shiver in place and whisper, "So cold."

The skin under his hands was incredibly soft; he could grasp the ankle with his bare hands. He wondered how there was so much flesh on the legs. The man reached out and pressed down hard, leaving a finger mark on the leg. The flesh on the leg, reddened by the mark, bulged out from between his fingers.

His expression suddenly darkened, and his throat moved slightly.

Yao Ruyi had long known the harmful effects of this ointment, so he pinched it with his hand early on, waiting for the burning pain to come. He tilted his head, unwilling to look. When the emperor's fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, and his large hand pinched his leg flesh, the image of the two men in the alley of Jiangzhou City that night always appeared in his mind.

The two kissed, one of them holding the other's leg and placing it on his waist.

With milky-white ointment applied to both legs, Yao Ruyi lay on the quilt with her eyes closed, waiting for the pain to subside.

Gu Huizhou stared at that spot, where the reddened skin was covered with ointment he had personally prepared. His legs were forcefully spread apart, revealing incredibly fair and tender skin. The ankles, where he had just pinched them, now bore red finger marks, further deepening the darkness in the man's eyes.

"Hmm—"

Yao Ruyi waited a long time but the burning sensation didn't come. He cautiously raised his eyes and saw the emperor sitting by the window staring at him. The moonlight brocade tied to his ankle by the bedside was being played with by Gu Huizhou.

His cheeks flushed slightly, his gaze darted around, finally settling on the abrasion between his legs. The cool ointment felt painless on the wound. He stared at it for a while, then asked, "Your Majesty, this isn't the same ointment as before, is it?"

"Um,"

As if he had had enough fun, Gu Huizhou tore off the moonlight brocade from his ankle without giving it back, saying, "Cover yourself with the blanket."

Covering herself with the blanket would only smear the ointment onto the blanket again, Yao Ruyi shook her head, "I'll cover myself with it later."

The man paused, his hand wrapped in white brocade. Gu Huizhou turned his head and said, "Whatever you say."

Leaning against the quilt, Yao Ruyi's earlier thought was simply because Gu Huizhou pinching his leg was too similar to the scene that night. Now, the emperor was sitting at the desk reviewing memorials, while he was lying horizontally on the bed with his legs exposed to the air, only putting on his clothes at lunchtime.

Gu Huizhou read the memorial in his hand over and over again. Only when Cui Xiangzhu asked outside the hall whether the meal should be served did the man put the memorial down and say, "Serve it."

After the emperor finished speaking, he stared at Yao Ruyi, who was delaying his handling of state affairs. Yao Ruyi was carefully pouring a bowl of water into her flowerpot, holding the bowl with both hands, afraid of pouring too much water.

As night fell, two carriages entered the capital.

Thirteen parted ways with the two outside the city and rode his horse into the palace. He carried his and Yao Ruyi's bundles on his shoulder. When he saw Cui Xiangzhu waiting for him outside the Cloud Palace, he slowly stopped his horse and said, "Eunuch Cui."

"The Thirteenth Lord is back."

"Um."

Looking up again, Fourteen emerged from the Cloud Palace. "Brother."

Fourteen raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "You're finally back." He complained about the past month or so, "You weren't here, and Fifteen didn't say a word. He could only talk to the bricks on the wall all day."

Thirteen raised an eyebrow, stepped forward and hugged Fourteen. The two greeted Cui Xiangzhu and walked inside. "See? In the end, you still have to come with me. I brought you something back from Jiangzhou City. I'll give it to you when we get back."

Fourteen sighed, "Well, it wasn't a waste of time following you."

The two walked inside like good buddies. Thirteen looked at the dim light in the main hall and vaguely saw another figure moving around on the golden nanmu bed by the window. He felt something was wrong. Thirteen, who originally wanted to go directly to see the emperor, changed his mind. "Is Your Majesty injured?"

"He actually went out of the city himself to bring Little Nineteen back."

Fourteen glanced at him with a hint of helplessness.

"how?"

Fourteen said slowly, "His Majesty was not injured. At dawn, His Majesty carried Little Nineteen into the capital on horseback." As he spoke, Fourteen laughed, "He even carried her when he dismounted. Little Nineteen was sleeping soundly in His Majesty's arms."

Thirteen had originally wanted to remark on how kind His Majesty was to people, but when he met Fourteen's gaze, he suddenly remembered the fair-skinned young man that the Emperor had asked the two of them to find before the New Year.

"Send someone to the capital to find a fair-skinned young man with round, dark eyes, skin as smooth as jade, and dressed in coarse linen..."

When Xiao Shijiu first appeared in the Cloud Palace, he looked just like this. Shisan's eyes widened immediately, and he looked into the Cloud Palace.

Fourteen looked at him with an expression that said, "You idiot, you only just realized this now," and couldn't stop laughing. "You know now?"

Thirteen nodded, “...Mm.”

Fourteen patted him on the shoulder, "Good to know. Don't compare yourself to Nineteen in the future, and let's not stand guard in the palace anymore."

Following the line of thought of the Fourteenth Prince, Thirteen wondered what would happen if they were still guarding His Majesty's bedchamber...

He let out a long sigh. "You go back first. I'll take Xiao Shijiu's things to him." He turned around with a blank face, but he couldn't understand it no matter how hard he thought about it, looking helpless. "How could I only find out now?"

Fourteen, "...So what if I know?"

"..."

Nineteen is still their brother, Little Nineteen, but with an additional connection to His Majesty… Thirteen thought for a moment, “That seems to make sense.”

"Um."

Thirteen quickly let it go and said with a smile, "But I can't take a bath with Little Nineteen anymore."

Fourteen's legs, which were walking towards his own yard, suddenly froze. He swallowed hard and looked at Thirteen's retreating figure. "Brother, you..."

They're incredibly lucky to be alive.

————————

Let me see.