Chapter 129

The air in the early morning was a little foggy. Lin Shuge had slept too late yesterday. He slowly opened his eyes when he heard the noise coming from outside. A strong arm was holding his waist. He struggled to get out, but instead of being able to move, he was held even tighter.

Xie Chen whispered in his ear: "It's still early, be good, sleep a little longer, you don't have to be on duty today."

"Zhongxuan, get up quickly. Today is the first day of the new year. Ayuan and Axuan are already up." Lin Shuge got up with difficulty, but was pulled back by Xie Chen with his eyes closed. His movement was too big and Lin Shuge fell directly into his arms. He didn't dare to move for a moment.

Are you so energetic so early in the morning?

Xie Chen obviously felt it too, and said in a hoarse voice: "Brother, don't move, let it calm down."

"Then let me go." Lin Shuge was embarrassed and angry, his ears were flushed, and there were people outside.

Xie Chen panted softly beside his ear, and said impatiently: "Brother, help me, I can't get down."

"Handle it yourself." Lin Shuge blushed and his heart beat fast. He looked up and saw that his eyes were dark and stained with deep desire, as if he was holding back something.

Lin Shuge could only accept his fate and help him. After an unknown amount of time, Lin Xuan had been pacing back and forth outside the house several times before he saw the two men coming out in neatly dressed clothes.

"Brother, Mr. Lu sent a message saying that the little prince of Xiye Kingdom will be here soon and asked you to hurry over." Lin Xuan finally waited for the two of them and said hurriedly.

"Okay, we'll be there soon."

Xie Chen was very tactful and went to get the horse. Lin Shuge quickly mounted the horse and headed straight out of the city.

The cold wind outside the city blew straight into Lin Shuge's neck. Xie Chen stepped forward to help him put on his hood, straightened his cloak, and stood in the wind to block the wind for him.

Lu Yuechuan, who was standing next to him, felt his teeth ache, and Yang Yan turned his back silently.

"It's really cold. I hope you aren't cold, right?" Lu Yuechuan said with envy.

"It's indeed not cold. Achuan, do you want to come over?" Lin Shuge raised the corners of his lips and looked at him with a smile.

Lu Yuechuan was caught off guard by the show, and turned around to avoid talking to him. After a moment, he asked, "Does the young prince of Xiye know what his temper is like? Why did he come to Qingquan?"

"I used to know him in Ganzhou. He has a simple and lovely personality and is kind to others. He came to Qingquan and said he was visiting me on the way."

But after all, Taran’s status is different, so even if he is an old friend visiting, he cannot be treated with disrespect.

Suddenly, the sound of camel bells came from afar, the sound was clear and pleasant, and a convoy appeared in front of everyone. Before Lin Shuge could see clearly, he saw someone jumping and waving at him.

It’s Ale, Lin Shuge held his forehead with his hand.

"The people of Xiye are so enthusiastic." Lu Yuechuan exclaimed.

"Lord Lin, long time no see. You look even more handsome now." Ale got off his horse, followed by Taran. Both of them were dressed in low-key foreign merchant clothes, but the soldiers following behind them could tell at a glance that this group of people were either rich or noble.

"Your Highness, Ale, how are you?" Lin Shuge led everyone to pay their respects to Taran.

"Lord Lin, please stand up. We are such close friends, there is no need to be so polite." Taran helped Lin Shuge up and looked at the people behind him.

"Your Highness, this is my younger brother Wei Zhongxuan, who is also the commander of the Qiang Guard stationed here. This is the county magistrate Lu Yuechuan, and the county lieutenant Yang Yan." Lin Shuge pointed at several people and introduced them to Taran one by one.

"Your brother? I've seen Ayuan before, but I don't think I've seen this guy in Ganzhou." Ale stared at Xie Chen, and when he saw him raise his eyelids and look at him, he quickly looked away.

"Zhongxuan was in the Eternal Tunnel before, so you have never seen him."

Zhong Gu Sui, whose last name was Wei, Taran suddenly remembered who this person was and said hurriedly, "Ale, don't be rude, this is Lord Wei."

A'le also remembered what happened with the Huns. It seemed that it was this Lord Wei who shot the Huns' leader's eyes blind with an arrow. He bowed to Xie Chen and stood aside, not daring to speak.

"Your Highness, let's go into the city first." Lin Shuge said gently.

"Okay, by the way, Lord Lin, I met Lord Zhou in Ganzhou. He has been thinking about you and asked me to say hello to you. He said that the recipe you sent is very good, and he didn't know when he would see you again." Taran and he walked on the street and looked around. It was New Year's Day, and there were only a few shops open on the roadside. There were a variety of peach charms and couplets on display, which looked festive from afar.

Lin Shuge thought of Zhou Du's accusation in the letter and chuckled, "I haven't seen him for such a long time, I do miss him a little."

"I miss you, too. After eating the barbecue you made, none of us will not miss it. I also brought you a gift, which I will show you later."

Ale was as straightforward as ever. Lin Shuge thanked him, then turned around and saw that Xie Chen looked unhappy. He coughed lightly, and while no one was paying attention, he quietly scratched his palm.

Xie Chen felt as if his heart was scratched by a cat, and he took a few steps over to walk side by side with him.

After sending the Xiye envoys to the post station, Lin Shuge and others said goodbye to them. Suddenly, a man ran out. It was Feng Gu.

As it was too cold in winter to start construction, Feng Gu and his companions temporarily stayed at the post station.

"Master Lin, thank you for the gift. It's delicious." He had only learned Chinese for a short time, so he could only say a few simple words, followed by a long string of Qiang words.

"Brother, Feng Gu asked who they were?" Xie Chen translated.

"They are the envoys from Xiye Country."

Ale looked down at him and asked, "Is this kid a Qiang? Why is he in your territory?"

"We invited him here as a guest," Lin Shuge said with a smile, "You've been traveling a long way, you should take a rest first."

"I'll come to play with you in the afternoon. I heard that there are a lot of fun things to do during the New Year here." Ale shouted.

"Okay, I'll let you have fun in a few days." After Lin Shuge shouted, he left with a group of people.

The couple was a cold couple on the way here, but it was lively on the way back. Pedestrians on the street came and went to wish each other a happy new year. Some people recognized their identities and wanted to give them new year gifts. Lin Shuge accepted a jar of Tusu wine and said to Xie Chen, "Nothing to do today, let's go back and have a drink?"

"I'm afraid my alcohol tolerance is not enough to drink with brother. How about letting A'le, who misses brother, drink with brother?" Xie Chen stood with his arms folded, his tone sour.

"Hmm? What I took seemed to be wine. You smell it, why does it have a sour smell? Could it be that he gave me the wrong thing and actually gave me a jar of vinegar? Otherwise, why would our Zhongxuan sound like he drank vinegar?" Lin Shuge's eyes were smiling, like a pool of spring water.

"Okay, what's good about vinegar? I'll make it for you when I get home. Do you want to eat the dumplings? They can be dipped in vinegar. We don't need to buy vinegar today."

"Brother." Xie Chen was so angry that he hugged him with one hand. Lin Shuge struggled and looked around for a few times. Seeing that no one was passing by, he said, "Let me go in public. What if someone passes by later?"

Xie Chen then let him go, "Brother only mentioned a few words in the letter before, it seems that you two have a good relationship..."

"That's quite good. Lord Lin and I have a life-and-death friendship. When I was being hunted, Lord Lin descended from the sky and saved me from danger. He also helped the Xiye Kingdom a lot," Ale suddenly appeared like a ghost. "I was almost dying at that time, and Lord Lin even said that he owed me a barbecue so that I wouldn't die. This friendship is naturally hard to give up. I will repay him before we part again..."

"Really? It seems like my brother has a really good relationship with him." Xie Chen said calmly.

"Of course, otherwise why would the prince and I come all the way to see him? When we returned to Xiye, we kept thinking about Lord Lin and when we could see him again. We should have returned directly from Ganzhou County to Xiye this time, but we heard that Lord Lin was transferred to Qingquan, so we had no choice but to turn back to Qingquan. But we finally met Lord Lin."

"Oh, don't talk nonsense, Zhongxuan, it's not as exaggerated as he said. It's all because of the civil unrest in Xiye. I just did my duty." Lin Shuge was overwhelmed. In the past, Xie Chen was jealous and angry just playing with him. Today, he could feel that he was really angry.

"Brother, I have something else to do. I will be back for lunch at noon." Xie Chen turned around and left.

"Master Lin, you two have a special relationship, right?"

"Ale, just tell me what you want to say. Why do you have to do this?" Lin Shuge's face was slightly tinged with anger.

"Just to test the waters. I came here to give you something. I brought you a lot of the cumin and various seasonings you mentioned. I've already sent someone to deliver them..."

"What on earth are you going to do?"

"I'm not doing anything. I just want to know what your relationship is. Besides, what I said is the truth." Ale said innocently.

"It's not the place for outsiders to worry about our relationship. Ale, although you are a distinguished guest of Xiye Country, it is not appropriate for you to walk around freely in the territory of Dayan. I haven't told you yet that Zhongxuan has a bad temper."

Ah Le looked at Lin Shuge's leaving figure and suddenly said, "Prince, did you hear that? What is their relationship?"

Taran walked out from his hiding place with a puzzled look on his face, "Come on, Al, let's go back."

Lin Shuge followed the direction where Xie Chen left, but after walking for a long time there was no sign of Xie Chen. This place was a field, and the grass and trees were withered and yellow in winter, making it look even more desolate.

"Zhongxuan." Lin Shuge called out a few times. It had snowed a while ago and the road was a little slippery. He walked so fast that he almost fell. Seeing that there was no sign of Xie Chen, he guessed that he should have gone to the military camp. Since he said he would be back at noon, he sighed and prepared to go back first.

Ale didn't know what was wrong with him and why he suddenly came to provoke Zhongxuan. He lowered his head and wondered what Ale's motive was, when suddenly he bumped into a hard body.

"Zhongxuan, you didn't go to the military camp?" Lin Shuge asked in surprise.

Xie Chen had a stern expression on his face, and said coldly, "No, it's just that you old friends are meeting again and want to reminisce about the past. I am a little redundant, so I just made room for you."

"What are you talking about? If you really want to hear it, I will tell you what happened." Lin Shuge then recounted in detail the causes and consequences of the assassination of the Great Prince of Xiya Kingdom.

"That's all. It's not as outrageous as what Ale said." Lin Shuge explained.

"What's wrong? Are you still angry?"

"Brother, I'm just scared. I was just like him. I was also saved by you and developed feelings for you because of that. But I knew you earlier. If there was someone before me..."

"Zhong Xuan, you are different from all of them. Not to mention that there is no such assumption, even if there is, I will only like you. Do you think I will fall in love with everyone I save? That doesn't make sense. If I didn't really like you, how could I let you... Well, let's go back. Didn't we say we were going to make dumplings?" Lin Shuge blushed. He was not the kind of person who would talk about love all the time. Today's analysis was really a helpless act seeing Xie Chen struggling with this.

Xie Chen stepped forward and held his hand, "I'm sorry, brother."

Lin Shuge touched his face and said, "If you have something on your mind, tell me. Don't let your imagination run wild. But I think there is something wrong with Ale. He must have done it on purpose."

"Brother said..."

"Don't worry about him, and you shouldn't worry about him either, okay?" Lin Shuge knew that Xie Chen was very petty in this regard and was afraid that he would cause trouble for A'le.

Xie Chen, who just wanted to nip his potential love rival in the bud, could only nod and promise himself that he would not do so.