Chapter 30 [VIP]

The two of them were facing a difficult chess game. Lu Xuejin spoke up, saying, "Brother, your chess skills have improved a lot recently."

“It’s not that my chess skills have improved,” Xue Yi said gently, placing a piece in his hand. “It’s that Changyou’s mind has not been on the game lately; he’s always distracted by external things.”

"You answered this question when you were studying before. A classmate came to you asking how to improve his studies. At that time, you told him that he only needed to focus his mind completely on what he was doing at the moment. When studying, he shouldn't think about what he would do after finishing the book, what would happen if he didn't finish, or what the use would be if he finished. If his mind is too scattered, he will not be able to concentrate."

“Everyone understands this principle, but it’s not easy to put into practice. Look at Changyou, he’s already distracted,” Xue Yi sighed.

Lu Xuejin couldn't refute it. His mind was filled with the image of Murong Yue's departing figure. He wondered where the boy had gone and worried that he might have wandered off. Although he was sitting opposite Xue Yi, he wasn't actually on the chessboard. Besides, they were no longer at the age to delve into chess.

"I lost." Lu Xuejin placed her last white piece.

“I have lost,” Xue Yi said. “Only by determining the winner can I keep you here. Since you have lost interest in the game, I cannot force you. Do you wish to go and find him?”

“It’s getting late. I won’t go to see His Highness the Ninth Prince. His Majesty should also go back to rest,” Lu Xuejin said.

Judging from Xue Yi's expression, he might still be bothered by the matter, so he added thoughtfully.

"Human nature cannot be controlled by the game of chess."

Xue Yi wanted to stay in his palace, so he saw the person to the door, but the person didn't leave for quite a while. The night wind rustled through the air, making the leaves flutter and fall.

Reaching the door, Xue Yi stopped. "After the wedding, how about Changyou moves to Xiyuan Palace?"

Lu Xuejin: "It's too early to talk about the future. If I'm not busy, I might be able to visit His Majesty more often."

The next sentence caused Xue Yi's expression to change, and a touch of handsomeness appeared on his pale face. His hands were then grasped, and Xue Yi said in a low voice, "I await Changyou."

Lu Xuejin didn't respond. Watching the person leave, he returned to his own palace. The chess game inside was still going on. He stared intently at it for a moment, then solved the remaining pieces. Even after solving the game, he couldn't sleep that night.

He stayed in the hall for about an hour, then couldn't help but sigh. He called out "Ziyan," and Ziyan, who was still awake, closed her umbrella outside the hall.

"Young master, it looks like it's going to rain," Ziyan said. "Shall we go out?"

Lu Xuejin took the umbrella. He glanced at the sky; it was dark and gloomy, the moon barely visible. It was raining in Shengjing; he wondered when the rain would reach Liancheng.

"I'm going to check on the Ninth Prince. I'll be right back," he said to Ziyan.

He walked along the palace path toward the side hall. A sudden gust of wind blew, scattering the lanterns that passed by. Occasionally, two palace servants would pass by. Before he even reached the side hall, rain began to fall, dripping down the ribs of his umbrella to his side.

There was a dark figure around the corner, and he almost thought he was seeing things. Just as he was about to pass by, he stopped for some reason, glanced at the figure again, and tentatively spoke.

"Ninth Prince?"

The shadowy figure, which had been hidden behind the palace wall, paused for a moment upon hearing this. A face then turned in the darkness, and Murong Yue saw him, his eyes flickering slightly.

"Brother Changyou...you."

Lu Xuejin couldn't help but sigh. Seeing that the rain would soon soak the boy, and how pitiful he looked after being kicked out, he went over and held up an umbrella for him.

“I’m on my way to the side hall. Why is Your Highness staying here instead of going back?”

This place isn't far from Fangze Palace. He and Xue Yi played chess for an hour, and perhaps Murong Yue stayed here for an hour as well. It just so happens that it's raining today, and the wind is blowing very hard. Thinking of this, he placed his palm on Murong Yue's forehead.

“I’m worried about you, brother. It’s always a concern that the Emperor is with you,” Murong Yue said softly.

He held the umbrella, his palm touching the boy's body heat. The boy's hair and cheeks were wet, and his eyes were shrouded in a layer of moisture. He felt a force on his wrist, and the boy's voice lowered.

"Did he do anything to my brother?"

Looking at the boy, he was genuinely worried about him. He gently rubbed the boy's forehead with his palm. "No. I played a game of chess with him. He left after we finished."

"He didn't do anything to me... but Your Highness is completely soaked. I'll take Your Highness back first, so you don't catch a cold."

Lu Xuejin's hand slid down, and he took the boy's hand. Rainwater fell gently beside them. He looked at the side of the boy's clothes and said, "If you don't want to go back next time... just go find Ziyan. You don't have to stay here."

“I cannot rest easy without seeing Your Highness,” he said.

"Just playing chess? Brother. Is he the elder brother you mentioned earlier?" Murong Yue asked.

“Well… I grew up with him. He was in my family since he was little. We’re not blood brothers, but we’re like siblings.” Lu Xuejin then explained, “There’s more to the story about our marriage.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy beside him stopped in his tracks.

Lu Xuejin noticed this and stopped, pondering how to explain. He then met a pair of eyes filled with anger and jealousy. The innocence in the boy's eyes was gone, replaced by jealousy that flowed down like poison, mingling with the rain.

He paused slightly, and Murong Yue sensed something. He tried to conceal his emotions, but perhaps the night rain disturbed him, yet he still managed to glimpse his own.

"Then brother... why did you come out to find me?" Murong Yue asked him.

He instinctively said, "I'm worried about Your Highness."

“I’m just worried,” Murong Yue repeated, his aura becoming unusual. He sensed some danger and was thinking about how to calm the boy down. Before he could figure it out, the boy approached him.

The bamboo umbrella in his hand was tilted slightly, as if he were worried that the boy would get wet in the rain, so he tilted it a little, as if he were half-embracing the boy. He met the boy's fan-shaped eyes, and the emotions surging within them almost devoured him.

“…Your Highness.” He sighed, always at a loss for what to do.

Before he could finish speaking, Murong Yue's breath assaulted him, and his lips met something cold. Those rain-drenched eyes were clearly visible to him, and the umbrella in his hand fell to the ground, disappearing into the rain along with the boy.

A hot, moist kiss.

His teeth bumped into Murong Yue's canine tooth, and for some reason, a surge of emotion welled up inside him for a moment. That emotion left his mind blank, and he briefly abandoned all thought. The sticky, separated body heat, the boy's body temperature burning hot, like a torch burning in the rain, impossible to extinguish. He was drawn to that flame and light, captivated as he drew closer.

Seeing him stop, the boy pulled him into the commotion, igniting his calm and unperturbed heart and stirring up his emotions.

Damp, dense, sticky, inextinguishable, endless, chaotic, lingering, corrosive... getting close to him is like swallowing his whole heart.

The venom of jealousy transformed into damp rain, soaking him and causing him a sudden taste of bitterness. The pain from the biting and pulling, the physical agony, slowly unfolded before him.

He didn't respond, and the boy seemed even angrier, his gloomy aura piercing through his eyes. He reacted slightly, and the boy's gloom vanished completely. He touched the tip of the boy's ear, the burning sensation almost scalding him.

A kiss can relieve pain.

The rain soaked their clothes completely, the intense dampness blocking out the rain. Murong Yue's eyes reflected his own, and the two looked at each other, the air falling silent.

"Brother Changyou." The boy stood still as if he had done something wrong, looking at his lips, the gloom turning into a satisfied crimson.

Lu Xuejin picked up the umbrella again. He had several bite wounds and his mind was still in turmoil. He noticed the boy's gaze on him, looking at him cautiously, like a frightened kitten.

He should be the one who is frightened.

“Your Highness, I will escort you back,” he said.

Upon reaching the entrance of the side hall, Murong Yue asked, "Brother, are you angry?"

"..." Lu Xuejin could still smell the boy's breath in his ear. This question really stumped him. Seeing the boy's serious expression, he quietly said, "It's not that I'm angry."

His words evoked both joy and anger. Murong Yue stared at him for a while, then leaned in and hugged him, rubbing his cheek against the edge of his clothes.

"Brother Changyou, I was wrong. Please don't be angry with me. I just thought he might do that to you, and subconsciously I did the same thing. Then I'm no different from him. Brother."

Lu Xuejin's previously chaotic thoughts found their source because of Murong Yue's words. Upon hearing this, all his emotions dissipated, and he touched the head of the boy in his arms. The boy tugged at him and rubbed against him, acting obediently in his arms, his clear, innocent eyes regaining their original color.

His little tiger teeth were showing, and his eyebrows and eyes were wet from the rain. He looked at the boy, who looked like a cute tiger cub, making it impossible to get angry.

"I can never control my emotions. I can only calm myself down in front of you, brother. You always help me calm down. Maybe that was my true self just now... Brother, will you never talk to me again because of this?"

Before Lu Xuejin could reply, the boy in his arms carefully observed his expression, causing Lu Xuejin's heart to flutter slightly. It seemed he had been too relaxed earlier to notice the child watching him. Upon noticing the change in his mood, the boy immediately tried to play innocent and deceive him.

“...Of course not,” he said.

"Your Highness, there's no need to be so nervous. You can be yourself and don't need to be restrained."

Upon hearing this, Murong Yue's eyebrows furrowed, and he smiled at him, saying, "My mother always says that I have an extreme and stubborn personality, and that I like to compete. These qualities are probably not liked by the world. Brother Changyou is very important to me... I don't want him to hate me."

He wanted to say that he certainly didn't dislike His Highness. The words stuck in his throat, but he couldn't utter them. He placed his hand on the boy's head and ultimately just patted it twice reassuringly.

"It's getting late, Your Highness, you should rest early. We can discuss this matter properly another day, shall we?"

“Then I’ll go see my brother tomorrow. Brother, wait for me,” Murong Yue said to him.

He responded and watched the person enter the side hall before leaving. Even after returning to Fangze Palace, he still couldn't sleep. Touching the wound on his lip, his thoughts drifted away for a moment.

The book says that humans are born with many layers, including the id, the true self, and the ego. The ego is self-awareness, the id is how others perceive them, and the true self is the underlying personality. Murong Yue could easily distinguish each layer and use different layers to deal with different people. In this light, the child is very intelligent.

He felt he had overlooked something, and before he could sort out his thoughts, a clap of thunder struck outside. A torrential downpour began, the sky suddenly brightened, and the thunder roared.

He feared he would not sleep that night. He stood guard by the chessboard, and in less than a quarter of an hour, the lights outside his palace shone brightly in the dead of night. Song Zhao and palace maids came to invite him to Xiyuan Palace.

Every time he passed by Xiyuan Hall, he felt that the place was built in a shady spot, and on rainy days, not a single ray of light could penetrate. Only two candles were lit in the hall, and the candlelight illuminated the face of the person on the bed. Xue Yi was pale and slept restlessly on the bed, looking like a peony that had been scattered and withered by the rain, becoming withered and colorless.

"Brother?" he called out, but the person on the bed did not respond.

He touched Xue Yi's breath; it was so faint it was almost imperceptible, like that of a dead man. This body seemed to be made of clay, weak and sickly, ready to disintegrate on its own without any protection from wind or rain.

"Is this how it is after you come back?" he asked the person behind him.

Song Zhao: "After returning from your place, he stayed alone in the Golden Palace. I noticed that he looked uneasy, so I went in and found that he had fainted."

As he spoke, Song Zhao shifted his gaze from the person on the bed to him and said, "Given his condition, it would be best if you could take care of him a little. A frail body is most susceptible to mental disturbance."

The palace maid inserted a suppository containing a mixture of medicinal liquid, which was soaked in a towel, filling the air with a bitter medicinal aroma.

Lu Xuejin placed a towel on Xue Yi's forehead, pinched his chin, and placed a pill under his tongue. He listened quietly and replied, "I can't control my mind. Sometimes I can't even pay attention to my own words and actions, let alone others."

“Lord Song should know the most about this matter,” he said.

Song Zhao remained silent, standing quietly behind him for a moment. He heard a slight noise, and the door was closed, leaving only him and Xue Yi in the hall.

He would stay here tonight, gazing at the profile of the person on the bed, his thoughts drifting. Compared to his elder brother, he was still not as good at calming his mind. Even when Xue Yi was restless, he would still do his job well and never let others see his state of mind.

The candlelight flickered, and he fell asleep without realizing it. Before falling asleep, he touched Xue Yi's pulse, which was so fragile that it seemed as if it might disappear at any moment.

"...Changyou?"

At dawn, he heard a low, hoarse voice beside him; Xue Yi was already awake. He was still holding Xue Yi in his hand, their fingers intertwined without him noticing. Xue Yi was drenched in sweat, completely soaked in cold sweat.

"Thank you for keeping watch here... How long have you been doing this?"

Looking at the sky outside, and seeing that Xue Yi still had to go to court, Lu Xuejin said, "There's no need to go today. Song Zhao will handle things with the court officials. But you, brother, should rest well as you're not feeling well."

Seeing that Xue Yi was sweating profusely, wetting the hair around his ears, he bent down, took out a handkerchief from the side, and handed it to him.

Xue Yi: "Recently, affairs have been complicated, and I am always worried about entrusting them to him alone. Many court officials are still opposing my decree, and if I do not show myself, they will probably not give up easily."

“In that case,” Lu Xuejin said, his eyes reflecting the person. He had no doubt that if Xue Yi were sent out now, he might faint in front of the palace. At that time, Song Zhao would no longer need to see the court officials; they would go together to fetch the imperial physician.

"I'll stay here. I'll handle the memorials for my brother, how about that?"

A note from the author: