Chapter 21: Sobering Up

After saying that, Shen Yanheng pinched An Qin's chin and gently placed a kiss on the tip of his nose.

An Qin suddenly came back to his senses, his cheeks suddenly turned red enough to bleed, his eyes instantly shifted away, he pushed the man away and stepped back.

His heart was beating uncontrollably, drowning out the sound of the water. An Qin stood there in disbelief.

He tried to comfort himself that it was just due to lack of oxygen after coming out of the water, but the more he thought about it, the clearer the man's wet face became in his mind.

She was even more beautiful than any courtesan he had ever seen...

“…”

Hold!

An Qin was furious and regretful, but his face was still red and steaming, and his eyes kept dodging and trembling, as if he was frightened by something.

Seeing this, Chen Yanheng moved closer to him and laughed in a low, magnetic voice, making him look more like a mermaid on the sea that killed people invisibly with its beautiful singing voice.

When Chen Yanheng took a step forward, An Qin subconsciously took a step back. His flushed face was trying hard to remain serious, and he didn't look like an assassin at all.

"Sir, the fire has been put out." The guard on the shore shouted loudly.

Chen Yanheng's smile faded, he stopped teasing, waved his hand to signal the man to retreat, glanced at An Qin meaningfully, chuckled, and turned to swim back.

The man was immersed in the river with his hair loose. It was impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman just by looking at his back. The collar of his shoulder had slipped down a little, revealing a large area of fair and rosy skin. He was as beautiful as a painting.

An Qin glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, was slightly stunned, and then came to his senses belatedly. He quickly lowered his head, frowned, and resumed his serious expression. However, the scene in his mind could not be dispelled for a while, and his heart was beating like a drum, almost jumping out of his chest.

It's like seeing a ghost.

An Qin swallowed his saliva in fear, clenched his fists and stared at the water silently. After a while, his face returned to its initial expressionless indifference, and he swam towards the newly built tent.

His clothes were soaked and he had to change them. He had brought enough clothes with him before leaving Beijing, but before going to Fengyue Villa, he had left them all in Chen Yanheng's tent.

Glancing at the pile of black, burnt objects beside him, he could only vaguely make out the shape of a tent. An Qin: "..."

He wanted to ask the guard to borrow a servant's clothes, but before he could say anything, Chen Yanheng had already lifted the curtain and came out of the tent.

In a short time, Chen Yanheng had changed into a clean set of clothes, still in his favorite white color. The clean robe was only decorated with gold edges on the cuffs, and the collar was loose and open, revealing a piece of thin skin that was frozen pink by the cold water.

The neckline was so low that An Qin was stunned again.

Chen Yanheng posed coquettishly, tying his hair back with one hand, loosening his collar a little, and smiling, "You may not say anything with your mouth, but your eyes are very honest."

An Qin's pupils trembled, and he glanced around suddenly. Seeing that no one was looking at him, he looked away in embarrassment.

Nonsense!

Shameless!

Shen Yanheng smiled and reached out to hold his hand.

An Qin was like a frightened bird. He quickly dodged and stared at him vigilantly.

Chen Yanheng withdrew his hand and pulled out a black suit from somewhere. "Since you like black, I had several suits made according to your measurements, and you carry them with you wherever you go. You didn't let me take you into the house, and you deliberately wanted to make me change in public and piss me off to death?"

What nonsense! An Qin was so embarrassed and angry that his thin lips were pressed into a straight line and his cold eyes trembled violently.

Shen Yanheng held the clothes in one hand and reached out again with the other.

An Qin stood there, still feeling ashamed and angry about what he had said. He didn't think much about it for a moment. He just felt that if he dodged again, it would be as if he had really changed his clothes outside as he said, so he didn't avoid him.

Chen Yanheng got his wish and held her hand, leading her into the tent.

The clothes were handed to An Qin, but Chen Yanheng did not intend to avoid it. Instead, he sat down on the low bunk, supported his chin with his hand, and looked at An Qin with interest.

An Qin frowned and looked him in the eye.

The corners of Chen Yanheng's lips curved up, and he looked at him clearly with his head propped up.

After a stalemate, An Qin was the first to give in. He thought to himself that he had been seen by this man before, and they were all men, so how could he suffer a loss?

He coldly watched the movements of the person sitting on the bed, quickly took off his wet clothes and threw them aside. When he bent down to take off his trousers, he suddenly thought of his poor second brother's hair which had been tragically damaged a while ago. Now the hair had grown out sparsely, but even he himself looked very ugly, so he silently turned around and faced his back to Chen Yanheng to avoid being laughed at.

The little assassin still felt ashamed, and Chen Yanheng became playful.

The perky buttocks were tightened and popped out as the trousers were taken off. Unlike the lean and slender upper body, An Qin felt that the sight behind him was getting hotter. Then he thought about the path that Duanxiu had taken. It was just as dangerous to turn his back to Chen Yanheng. His face became stiff again and again.

He quickly grabbed some clean clothes nearby and tried to put them on, but the clothes were pressed against the rack.

The man sitting on the bed had somehow moved around behind him, his hand touching his lower back and moving it towards him.

An Qin's body tensed and trembled, and he elbowed behind him. Shen Yanheng groaned and took the opportunity to bring An Qin to the bed.

He had been writing letters in the palace for the past four days, but he hadn't even seen anyone. He hadn't found any opportunities in the past two days, and every time he tried to contact someone, he would be met with cold stares. Shen Yanheng was almost going crazy.

Shen Yanheng was shameless. When he couldn't win the fight, he grabbed An Qin's legs and tied him up while he was at a loss.

The young man didn't nod, and Chen Yanheng didn't have the mood to force him, otherwise he wouldn't have to go through so much trouble. That kind of thing must be done between two people who love each other, and it would be most wonderful to do it in the bridal chamber.

But you can still kiss and touch her.

This person will be his sooner or later.

Chen Yanheng shamelessly carried An Qin to the bed. Afraid that he would struggle and hurt his wrists, he squinted his eyes and stuffed a few more handkerchiefs into the soft rope. He looked up and down at the naked young man, admired him, curled his lips and smiled, and turned off the light on the side.

·

Although there was a half-day delay on the road, the journey from the imperial city to Jiangzhou was still completed within five days.

Although Jiangzhou suffered from flooding, fortunately the river embankment was strong. In addition, Jiangzhou prefect Yuan Xiaomiao evacuated the people in time, and the court sent soldiers and grain officials in time, so the people of the entire state were not displaced. Only two or three tenths of the people in Jiangzhou suffered from flooding.

But Jiangzhou is a large area. Even if only 20% or 30% of the people there are still hundreds or thousands of people, which is not a small number.

As soon as Chen Yanheng's convoy arrived outside the city gate, Jiangzhou prefect Yuan Xiaomiao got the news from somewhere. He was waiting at the city gate in a low-key manner, wearing a navy blue long gown and stroking his goatee. While the city guards were checking, he recognized the powerful Taifu who was one of the three highest officials at a young age and hurried forward to greet him.

"Your humble servant, Yuan Xiaomiao, the prefect of Jiangzhou, greets His Excellency the Grand Tutor." Yuan Xiaomiao bowed. Although twenty or thirty years older than Chen Yanheng, he didn't take advantage of his age and was extremely humble. "I never thought that the imperial envoy sent by His Majesty would be His Excellency the Grand Tutor. I apologize for not coming in person to greet you. Your Majesty has already sent someone to prepare a banquet. I hope you will do me the honor of coming. It is also a good opportunity for me to report to you on the recent events in Jiangzhou."

Shen Yanheng nodded, opened his folding fan and fanned himself, then smiled faintly, “Master Yuan, please.”

"Your Excellency the Grand Tutor, please come in! Your Excellency the Grand Tutor, please come in!" Yuan Xiaomiao called out to the sedan bearers beside him to carry the sedan over.

Chen Yanheng waved his hand, his voice gentle and elegant: "There are also family members traveling with us, so they can't ride in a sedan chair. Sir Yuan, please go first, and I will follow."

Yuan Xiaomiao was stunned for a moment. He glanced at the group of guards dressed as servants one by one, but did not see anyone who looked like a woman disguised as a man.

The only good-looking one was the personal guard beside the Grand Tutor. He was taller than him. Which girl was so tall and strong?

No one is allowed to sit in the carriage during the inspection. Chen Yanheng has no relatives, so only his wives and concubines can be considered relatives, right?

He was muttering in his heart, thinking that the last time he met the Grand Tutor, he didn't see any beautiful woman by his side. With Chen Yanheng's outstanding appearance, talent, and superiority, it didn't make sense that such a big thing as getting married hadn't been rumored at all.

Yuan Xiaomiao rubbed his hands, suppressed the doubts in his heart, nodded repeatedly, turned around and got into the blue and white sedan chair they came in, leading the way.

Chen Yanheng pulled An Qin onto the carriage and followed Yuan Xiaomiao slowly.

In the streets I walked through, I didn't see any displaced people, and even beggars were rare. Street vendors were everywhere, and it didn't look like a place that had just experienced a flood.

"The more normal it is, the more abnormal it appears." Chen Yanheng held An Qin's hand with one hand, closed the fan with the other hand, and lifted the carriage curtain to look.

An Qin stared at their folded hands and did not answer.

Chen Yanheng lowered the curtain, opened his fan to fan An Qin, and said with a smile: "My hands are indeed beautiful."

An Qin withdrew his gaze as if he had been electrocuted, and his whole body froze.

Chen Yanheng took his hand and raised it, looking left and right, and sighed: "It looks even better when I hold your hand.

An Qin pursed his lips and stared at his toes.

Chen Yanheng looked at him for a moment, then stared at the ear that had changed from white jade to red. He couldn't help but laugh out loud twice. "You assassins are so shameless, what can you do, huh?"

An Qin clenched his back teeth and silently recited martial arts moves in his mind.

Having amused him to the point of wanting to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, Chen Yanheng was in a good mood. He squeezed An Qin's hand and got back to the point: "This bustling city doesn't look like a place that has just experienced a natural disaster. I'm afraid there are hidden dangers. My life will be completely dependent on Guardian An during this period."

An Qin's face flushed with heat, but his eyes became sharp.

Since Uncle Shen said that the Jiangzhou incident was related to Huang Chongwen, if this scoundrel could really eradicate the remnants of Huang Chongwen, he would treat him as the owner of the villa during this period of time and would never let the remnants of Huang Chongwen have any chance to threaten Fengyue Villa!

"Yeah." An Qin nodded seriously.

Chen Yanheng paused and was silent for a moment, but he couldn't help but tease him: "Close protection?"

The tone sounded frivolous. An Qin pursed his lips and refused to fall into the trap. His cheeks felt slightly hot, his expression became more serious, and he sat up straight.

The slowly moving carriage suddenly stopped, but the servant did not ask them to get off immediately. Instead, two girls' sad and angry cries were heard from the front.

"Please, please, kind uncle, buy me!"

"I can do any job for a penny. My brother is dying. Please buy me, sir!"

The girl's crying was so shrill that An Qin frowned unconsciously.

Before he could get up, Chen Yanheng had already understood what he meant and opened the curtain a little so that he could see what was happening.

The person blocking the road was a girl of no more than ten years old, with a pale face and muscular body, wearing a tattered gray dress. There was a sign hanging around her neck with four big characters "one penny of silver" written crookedly. The character "qian" was written incorrectly, with a horizontal stroke and a dot missing.

She stopped Yuan Xiaomiao's sedan.

"Master, Master, my brother has typhoid and will die if he doesn't take medicine. Please buy me for only one penny. I..."

Yuan Xiaomiao didn't get out of the sedan chair. He just lifted the curtain on one side, threw out a few copper coins, and sent the man away: "Go, go, go, don't go peddling!"

The girl wiped her tears and wanted to go forward to ask for money, but was scared away by the strong sedan bearer. She looked around with tears in her eyes and saw An Qin and Shen Yanheng in the carriage. A ray of hope burst out in her gloomy eyes again.

She bit her lip and rushed over: "Master! My brother is terminally ill. I can do anything. Please be kind and help me!"

More and more people gathered to watch the excitement, whispering about something.

"Oh, isn't that Lord Yuan's sedan chair? Tsk, she's just standing there watching someone in need and not helping them. Divine Doctor Xu has taken in a lot of homeless people. This girl might as well go and seek refuge with Divine Doctor Xu."

"That's right, he used his salary from the imperial court to do all sorts of unscrupulous things, and the flood never reached the prefectural government."

"Girl, instead of begging them here, you might as well go to the east of the city to find Doctor Xu. He can at least provide you with food, and maybe he can help you cure your brother's illness as well."

“…”

Yuan Xiaomiao secretly said that something was wrong and hurriedly got out of the sedan chair, calling on the sedan bearers on both sides to drive the crazy girl away.

"Master! Master! My brother is seriously ill, Master!"

An Qin pursed his thin lips into a straight line, and suddenly remembered that he was no different from the girl before entering Fengyue Villa. It was a pity that he left in a hurry and only brought some healing medicine and hidden weapons. The rest of the silver had been given to the caravan that took a ride.

"Want to help her?" Shen Yanheng said softly.

An Qin glanced at Shen Yanheng but did not speak.

"Stop." Shen Yanheng smiled and raised his voice.

Yuan Xiaomiao paused, looked at the black lacquered carriage, and stepped aside.

Chen Yanheng handed the servant a silver ingot: "Give it to her."

The girl was overjoyed, tears welling up in her eyes. She took the silver ingot, which was as big as her palm, in her hands and knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Thank you, Master, thank you, Master!"

"Take the money and leave quickly!" Yuan Xiaomiao ordered someone to drive them away, bowed apologetically to Chen Yanheng, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and returned to the sedan chair.

It was already 12 o'clock when they arrived at the prefect's residence. Yuan Xiaomiao invited everyone into the residence, still talking about the family that Chen Yanheng mentioned, but he didn't see any female relatives getting out of the carriage. The only person accompanying them was still the young man in black clothes with tight sleeves.

Yuan Xiaomiao was afraid of being negligent and provoking this smiling tiger, so he couldn't help but ask, "Master Taifu, I wonder where your wife is...? Would she like to join us at the table?"

An Qin pursed his lips and set a cold face.

Chen Yanheng tightly grasped An Qin's hand and smiled, keeping it a secret: "Master Yuan, it is far away in the sky, but it is right in front of us."

Chen Yanheng pulled An Qin into the mansion. Yuan Xiaomiao scratched his face in confusion. When he saw the two men holding hands, his face froze and his eyes widened in astonishment.

Oh, it’s Duanxiu!

Yuan Xiaomiao seemed to have discovered some incredible secret, his eyes almost popped out, and he followed Chen Yanheng to lead the way. Along the way, he observed the high and mighty tutor's meticulous care for the young man beside him, and his guess became more and more certain.

No wonder he is twenty-six and still hasn't married or had children. An ordinary man should marry and have children at sixteen. He should have thought of sharing the peach with his girlfriend long ago!

Yuan Xiaomiao suppressed the shock in her heart, treated An Qin as the wife of the Grand Tutor, respectfully invited the two to take a seat, and then told them in detail what had happened after the flood in Jiangzhou.

"Since the appearance of that miracle doctor, the epidemic in Jiangzhou has indeed been stopped, but the displaced people have nowhere to go. The miracle doctor gave them his own mansion to live in and encouraged the people not to pay taxes. The government has no money and food, and most of the yamen runners have left. To be honest, sir, in Jiangzhou City now, the words of the miracle doctor Xu are more effective than those of this prefect. I also heard recently that he has promoted some kind of church and wants to lead the people to rebel and establish their own country in Jiangzhou. I really don't know what to do."

The situation in Jiangzhou was far more serious than Su Yingtian had said. Chen Yanheng's expression gradually became serious, and he began to think carefully about the countermeasures.

After three rounds of drinks and dinner, it was completely dark.

Yuan Xiaomiao knew the relationship between Chen Yanheng and An Qin, so she only asked the servants to clean out a yard.

The prefectural government now has no tax revenue, and the silver sent by the court has all been invested in disaster relief. Not only have most of the yamen runners left, but even most of the servants in the government have left. Only a few servants are left, who are still serving diligently, but they are busy cleaning up the kitchen and have no time to come to the front yard to serve.

Yuan Xiaomiao bitterly asked Chen Yanheng to be more tolerant, and bowed several times before taking his leave in shame.

The yard was silent and I had to fetch water myself. Fortunately, the weather was not cold, so cold water was just right for washing, saving the trouble of boiling water.

Chen Yanheng took the bucket to the well to fetch water, and when he returned to the courtyard, he saw An Qin had moved to the door of the side room with his hand on the door.

It’s such a small government office, why does it have a side room in the yard?

Chen Yanheng carried a bucket and blocked the way: "Jiangzhou City is full of believers. If we assassinate them at night, I'm afraid..."

An Qin: “…”

Chen Yanheng looked up to the sky and sighed, "My life is over."

An Qin's eyelashes trembled, he hesitated for a moment, and then retracted his hand.

Chen Yanheng achieved his goal and pulled An Qin into the main house, taking out a wet towel and wanting to wipe An Qin's face himself.

While the two were fighting and in a stalemate, a surprised, tender female voice came from outside the door.

"grown ups!"

An Qin took the opportunity to snatch the handkerchief back, quickly soaked it in water and wiped his face in one go, then pushed Chen Yanheng away expressionlessly and looked up.

The girl was the one who stopped the car in the evening. She tidied up her messy hair and tattered clothes, wiped off the dirt on her face, and her face was pale and emaciated, leaving only a pair of big dark eyes that were extremely smart, but her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.

The exposed wrist was so thin that it could be broken with ease. In his hand was a heavy kettle with steam coming out of the mouth.

"I, your servant Ying'er, thank you so much for the money, sir. It's a pity that my servant's brother was not so lucky and died before he could get the money..." Ying'er said, her eyes reddening again. Two crystal tears seemed to be about to fall. She sniffed and said in a muffled voice, "I had nowhere else to go. I thought the two gentlemen must have come to the prefect's house, so I followed them all the way here and asked to see the prefect. The prefect asked me to serve you well."

Chen Yanheng waved his hand. Before he could say anything, Ying'er knelt down and said, "Please don't chase me away, my lord. I am the only one left. As long as I have a meal, I will do any dirty or tiring work!"

An Qin looked at her indifferently, frowning slightly.

Seeing this, Chen Yanheng couldn't help but think of the time when he brought An Qin back to Fengyue Villa, when he was about the same age.

The little assassin has a kind heart and cannot bear to see others suffer.

Whatever.

Chen Yanheng squeezed An Qin's hand, raised his chin, and said gently: "If you want to stay, then stay. The adults don't need you to serve them now. Go down and rest."

Ying'er looked at him with tears in her eyes, sniffed, and said in a sobbing voice, "Yes, then wake up, sobering soup..."

It's better to send the Buddha to the west. Besides, he and An Qin had a few drinks in the evening, so it would be good to sober up. Chen Yanheng nodded and said, "Stay."

"Yes! Yes!" Ying'er stopped crying, kowtowed repeatedly to express her gratitude, brought in the hangover soup, made a clumsy gesture, and left.

Shen Yanheng washed his face, then brought a bucket of water and placed it inside the house in case of emergency.

After closing the door, the crowded dormitory and the dim candlelight brought out all the drunkenness in my stomach.

Actually, Chen Yanheng couldn't hold his liquor well, but he was much better than An Qin. However, he had played the hero at the banquet and helped An Qin drink a lot. Now that he had calmed down, his head felt slightly swollen and he felt a little dizzy.

Seeing his face flush, An Qin glanced at the hangover soup on the table expressionlessly and continued to sit upright.

Chen Yanheng leaned against him and uttered two low groans: "Dizzy."

oh.

An Qin blinked and remained motionless.

Shen Yanheng rubbed his neck and said, "I feel dizzy."

The hot breath caused An Qin to shiver and feel uncomfortable. He pushed twice, but was still tightly entangled by Chen Yanheng. After being defeated, he poured him a cup of sobering soup.

After spending some time together, An Qin has figured out this man's rogue temperament. He will never give up unless he gets what he wants.

An Qin simply put the cup of water to the man's lips and said in a cold voice: "Here."

Chen Yanheng raised the corners of his mouth, his eyes fixed on the cup of steaming brown soup. He knew that asking An Qin to feed him with his mouth was a fantasy, so he sighed helplessly and held the rim of the cup with his hand.

The smell of the hangover soup drifted into his nose, mixed with a barely detectable floral scent. Chen Yanheng narrowed his eyes, suppressed his smile, and sat up.

【Author’s words】

Big, big, thick and long! Love you mua!