Chapter 100 [VIP]

The damp rain blurred Xue Yi's face. Lu Xuejin looked at the blurred face and saw that the moisture was seeping into Xue Yi's eyebrows and hair roots, and old marks were appearing around them.

Old grudges have passed in a flash, only to be recalled in dreams a few times in an instant.

Fifteen years ago.

"It's Changyou... Come here quickly. Xiao Jiu is always so happy to see you."

As a young man, Lu Xuejin frequently visited the Liang Palace. Although he was much older than Emperor Liang, they were like close friends, like father and son. He was often summoned to the palace, sometimes to the Sutra Repository to look at the scriptures, sometimes to stand beside the old emperor and watch him handle state affairs, and sometimes to work on documents with the eldest princess.

Emperor Liang smiled warmly, looking very kind despite being nearly forty. Now, having a son late in life, he doted on his youngest son, the Ninth Prince. When he first met Emperor Liang, he mistook him for a farmer. His father had invited a farmer to their home, and he busied himself entertaining him. Only when his father returned did he realize that the emperor had caused a disturbance in the house.

He leaned closer to look at the child in Consort Li's arms. Consort Li's original name was Li Xin. She was a woman from the capital. The character "Li" was not suitable for use as a title in the Central Plains culture, so it was changed to "Li".

The Ninth Prince was almost three years old. He sat in Consort Li's arms, his eyes round and dark, his pupils shining. His baby teeth hadn't all come in yet, and his eyes crinkled into a smile. He bounced and jumped in Consort Li's arms. When she saw him coming, she opened her arms to hug him.

Consort Li couldn't help but laugh: "Little Jiu is always causing trouble. Every time Changyou comes over, he keeps staring at Changyou."

Lu Xuejin is only ten years old now, still a child himself. He likes to wear red robes and looks like a pretty little girl born from a red plum blossom under the palace walls. Even in his youth, he already has the composure of an adult. He likes to read, and since his mother is sickly and his older brother is in poor health, he helps his father take care of his brother and mother every day.

"Wow—" the Ninth Prince exclaimed upon seeing him.

It is said that the Ninth Prince and Consort Li will soon return to the capital. He stepped forward and smelled a pungent, milky scent. He picked up the Ninth Prince, who bounced around in his arms, making it very difficult for him. He turned his head and "smack!" the Ninth Prince bit his face, leaving a tooth mark.

Consort Li: "Oh dear, look at this naughty boy, how could he bite someone?"

Emperor Liang laughed heartily. Lu Xuejin kept a straight face and looked at the Ninth Prince's bright eyes. After the Ninth Prince finished biting him, he opened his lips and smiled, revealing a heart-shaped mouth.

"Changyou—" the Ninth Prince also called him, just like his parents.

The Ninth Prince smelled bad. Murong Xi had told him that the Ninth Prince was supposedly very mischievous, and even the wet nurses couldn't keep an eye on him. He was extremely curious about everything, and had even picked the jade leaves that the palace ladies kept, and found a lot of insects in the garden to put on Emperor Liang's desk. If he wasn't looking at it for a while, he could demolish a palace.

He returned the Ninth Prince to Consort Li. When he returned him, the Ninth Prince clung to his neck and refused to let go, spitting all over his face.

"Your Majesty, I must go back to take care of my mother and brother. I will come again another day."

"Go ahead, go ahead. When you have time, go to my palace and get some spices to give to Lady Heluo," said Consort Li.

His mother was called Lady Heluo. She was originally the county magistrate of Heluo County. After meeting his father, she fell in love with him and came to the capital. His mother was melancholy by nature and had been suffering from a long-term illness. She had always stayed at home and never left. But since Xue Yi came to their house, perhaps because of their similar circumstances, his mother found something to do and spent her days taking care of Xue Yi, hoping that he would get better soon.

Although Xue Yi was their adopted son, the whole family treated him as their own. His father found the best doctor in the world to treat Xue Yi, and his mother also recovered some of her energy to take care of him. She prepared food for Xue Yi every day and planted many auspicious cloud palaces in the courtyard.

He imitated his father and mother's attitude towards Xue Yi. After school, he would run to his brother's room and feed Xue Yi spoonful by spoonful of food made by his mother and the servants. He would rest his chin on his hand and watch his brother by the sickbed, hoping that his brother would wake up and he could talk to him.

He thanked Consort Li and ran back to his residence in a flash.

A small figure appeared outside his door; Wei Ning had come all the way in a sedan chair. He had told Wei Ning earlier that he had to take care of his elder brother and couldn't go out with Wei Ning, but Wei Ning insisted on coming to his house to see him and said he wanted to help him take care of the sick man.

Wei Ning also looked to be ten years old. His hair was neatly combed and tidied by a maid, his eyes were bright and captivating, and when he showed his teeth, he seemed to have a wicked mind.

"Changyou, quickly take me to see your brother. I'm so bored. The Eldest Princess isn't here, and the Second Prince talks too much. I'd rather come here with you. I want to help you take care of Yanli."

Lu Xuejin: "Are you really going to take care of your brother? He hasn't woken up yet, so you mustn't make a sound."

Wei Ning: "I won't make a sound. Take me there quickly."

“Alright,” Lu Xuejin agreed. He led Wei Ning into the mansion, where Wei Ning skipped and hopped along, with guards and maids following behind them.

The closer they got to Xue Yi's residence, the quieter it became. Xue Yi was in poor mental condition when he was brought there. According to his parents, Xue Yi had witnessed them, the Xie Prince and his wife, hang themselves in their mansion. From then on, whenever he heard sounds like soldiers walking, the rustling of cloth strips on the rafters, or the bubbling of medicine, Xue Yi would lose his composure, as if his soul had been ripped away. At best, he would be unable to breathe and enter a state of suspended animation; at worst, he would fall seriously ill.

He and Wei Ning arrived one after the other at the side hall where Xue Yi lived, not far from his mother's room. He could see his mother's figure in the distance; she was at the hall entrance, her white lotus-patterned dress partially obscured, but he couldn't see her expression. His mother didn't come towards them. Although he sometimes envied his brother for receiving more attention from their mother, his mother had become much happier since his brother's visit, and he couldn't help but feel happy for her as well.

My mother used to be reluctant to even leave her room, but now I often see her admiring the flowers in the yard.

"Changyou, I have something to tell you. I accidentally learned a secret. You have to promise me you'll never tell anyone, and then I'll tell you," Wei Ning said.

Lu Xuejin: "Since it's a very important matter, it's okay if you don't tell me."

“No,” Wei Ning said, “I’m really holding it in, I have to tell you. You have to keep it a secret for me.”

Lu Xuejin: "Okay. I promise you, I'll keep it a secret."

“Then I’ll tell you, but you absolutely mustn’t tell anyone else. I overheard this from my parents’ room. The monk who came to the palace a while ago… you know, that bald monk, did you see him? I heard he’s a sorcerer from the capital, who came to Shengjing because he predicted something big was going to happen here… According to my father, it was because of that sorcerer that the emperor had to send the Ninth Prince away.”

Lu Xuejin asked, feigning curiosity, "What big event is about to happen?"

Wei Ning said mysteriously, "It is said that the bald monk made a prophecy. He prophesied that a great fire would break out in the palace ten years later, and the emperor, Consort Li, the eldest princess, the second prince... would all be burned to death in the fire. The sorcerer said that the Murong family was cursed, which is why the emperor sent the ninth prince away."

This sounded like something a storyteller would tell—a sorcerer, a prophecy, a raging fire. Lu Xuejin didn't take it to heart and asked Wei Ning, "I understand... Have you finished your homework?"

"No, I want Xiaoyu to write it for me."

Wei Ning: "Changyou... do you really think that bald monk is that powerful? If what he said is true, what should we do? Although I hate Murong Qing, I don't want her to die at all. You don't know... last time my father asked me to go find her, she glared at me with her nostrils flared up! I hate her so much."

"Really? You really hate her?" Lu Xuejin said. "Last time you said you hated Xiaoyu, and soon after Xiaoyu became your maid."

Wei Ning snorted: "Okay... she's not that annoying. She always talks to herself and acts all high and mighty, I don't like that."

Lu Xuejin: "I've heard that the Princess is well-read and knowledgeable. You hardly read any books all day. If you don't understand what the Princess says, you'll naturally think she's arrogant."

As they were talking, Lu Xuejin gently knocked on the door. There was no response, so he pushed the door open. It was early summer, and the stove was still burning inside.

The stove burned brightly, and several thick mattresses were laid out on the small bed in the corner. Every time Lu Xuejin touched those mattresses, she felt that she could fall asleep even with a red bean on them.

The little figure on the bed had its eyes closed and its face was pale. The sickly boy peeked out from under the covers, his breathing very weak. When they came in and brought in a cool breeze, Xue Yi began to cough.

Lu Xuejin quickly closed the door. Wei Ning looked around curiously. There was a small stove and a copper basin in the room.

"I need to boil some water first. You can wait for me here." Lu Xuejin placed the books on the small tea table, which he had prepared separately so that he could do his homework while taking care of his brother.

He skillfully fetched and boiled water, placed a towel in the basin, and used the hot water to wipe the boy's body on the bed. The boy had been lying on the bed for too long without changing positions, which could easily cause moles to appear on his back. He used hot water to wipe Xue Yi's body, turned him over, and gently massaged the back of Xue Yi's hands and arms to loosen them up.

While he was taking care of someone, Wei Ning looked around at him, and when he was about to pull down Xue Yi's pants, Wei Ning covered his eyes.

"Does everyone in your family have to take such good care of him?" Wei Ning asked.

Lu Xuejin: "Only my mother and I do it often. My brother doesn't like others touching him. He's very shy. It took me a long time to get him to agree. Don't be fooled by his current unconscious state. Maybe he can still hear... Oh, right, I haven't introduced you to my brother yet."

“Brother, this is Meng Chang, Wei Ning, whom I mentioned to you before. She said she wanted to come and see you.”

After the introductions, Wei Ning felt a little embarrassed and blushed. She said to her brother, "I left in a hurry today. Next time I come, I will bring a gift for your brother."

“Your brother will be very happy that you can come,” Lu Xuejin said.

On a summer night, he and Wei Ning were doing their homework together at the small tea table. Wei Ning couldn't sit still and kept going over to check if Xue Yi was awake. He left before an hour had passed, leaving him alone by the tea table.

The room was very quiet, with a medicinal fragrance wafting in the air. He had gradually grown accustomed to the bitter smell of the medicine after inhaling it for so long. He diligently did his homework, captivated by the mythological stories in the books, sometimes glancing at them only occasionally. What drew him most were the stories of gods and Buddhas in the human world. He would repeatedly turn the pages to read how the gods and Buddhas helped the people, reading with great interest. Sometimes, he would peek through the pages at Xue Yi on the sickbed, always feeling that what he was doing was no different from what the gods and Buddhas were doing.

The first time he saw Xue Yi, he was deeply impressed. Although he had never seen a dead person before, Xue Yi was already indistinguishable from a dead person when he was brought here. There was no life in that body, and it had already rotted inside, like an aquatic plant that had rotted from the roots, filled with a heavy and desolate death aura.

Now, with his and his mother's care and his father's concern, the soul within that body has resurfaced from its decay, still on the verge of death, yet revealing a glimmer of life—what could be called the will to live. He and his mother pulled Xue Yi back from the brink of death.

As long as he takes good care of his older brother, his brother will get better sooner or later. Then his mother will also get better, and the four of them will live happily together. Such a wonderful life had already taken root and sprouted in his childhood. Every day, he would wait and wait by his little bed, as if guarding a seed as hard as a stone, hoping that the seed would sprout and grow.

In the dead of night, he woke up immediately upon hearing a noise. He was sleeping on the floor next to Xue Yi's bed, having set up a small bed for himself. He leaned closer to take a look and first noticed the prominent mole under Xue Yi's eyebrows, then a pair of sickly, dark eyes.

"Brother?"

Seeing Xue Yi wake up was the happiest thing for him. When a person has been longing for something for a long time, it gradually grows into an obsession in their heart. When the obsession is actually realized, it can give people the illusion that their will can determine the will of heaven. As long as he hoped that his brother would wake up, his brother would wake up. His mind was completely on Xue Yi, and he unconsciously spent more and more time by the sickbed.

"..." Xue Yi didn't speak to him, but just stared at him.

His eyes were empty, like the ink spilled from an overturned inkstone, the thick ink mingling and blending into the darkness of the night.

He remembered what his mother had told him: to talk to his older brother more so that his brother could get better.

He was very good at reciting essays in the academy, and his eloquence was appreciated by the Grand Tutor. This was not difficult for him; he simply told Xue Yi everything that had happened that day, what he had seen, and what interested him. He didn't like to talk about others and mostly talked about his own affairs. Sometimes, when he really had nothing to say, he would tell Xue Yi what clothes he was wearing, from the socks his mother had chosen to the color of his underwear.

At first, Xue Yi couldn't listen, but as he persisted day after day, these things became a habit. He found that his brother would wake up when he reported, occasionally checking what clothes he was wearing or what homework he was doing.

The dark eyebrows and eyes, damp with misty raindrops, emerged in the night. The boy in his memory had vanished from the sickbed. A roaring fire burned in the stove in Xiyuan Hall. He met Xue Yi's gaze, almost unable to distinguish between memory and reality. Only when he saw the cold lock did his consciousness slowly return, and he realized what had happened.

His address of "Your Highness" caused a dark, burning light to ignite in Xue Yi's eyes, a venomous fire of jealousy that surfaced only to be concealed. A suffocating atmosphere filled the hall as Xue Yi gripped his wrist, intending to crush its bones.

A note from the author: