“Jinghe, Xie Chang’an and I have known each other since childhood and have been classmates for ten years. In the past two years in the northern frontier, we have become comrades-in-arms who can entrust each other with their backs. We have also shared life and death on the battlefield. Our relationship has long transcended the friendship between ordinary friends.”
“I know all his strengths and weaknesses, and he knows all my strengths and weaknesses too, but we are still friends. This shows that while we appreciate each other’s strengths, we can also accept each other’s weaknesses.”
"Do you know how rare this is? Some people never meet such a person in their entire lives!" Ye Jingchen said earnestly to Ye Jinghe after pondering for a long time.
“Shouldn’t you be happy that I’ve met someone like this?” he asked.
Ye Jinghe was not happy at all; he even wanted to cry.
Sure enough, his childhood intuition was right: Xie Chang'an would take away his beloved older brother!
How come Xie Chang'an is so lucky?!
"I'm happy." Ye Jinghe forced a smile. "Since Xie Chang'an is so important to my brother, I will never target him again!"
But I hate him even more now!
"Xie Chang'an will also treat you like a younger brother." Ye Jingchen patted Ye Jinghe's head with some relief.
"There's absolutely no need for that!" Ye Jinghe screamed inwardly.
Not targeting Xie Chang'an is already his biggest concession; there's absolutely no way he'd want to be in love with Xie Chang'an!
Xie Chang'an would never treat him as a younger brother. Even if he made any gestures of goodwill, it was just an act to put on in front of his older brother.
Ye Jinghe suddenly had a brilliant idea: who can't act?
If he acts first, Xie Chang'an will be the one who is passive. Wouldn't that allow him to expose Xie Chang'an's true colors in front of his brother?
"Really? Will I really have another person who loves me like an older brother?" Ye Jinghe asked happily.
Ye Jingchen: Xiao Jing, don't you think there's a huge difference between your past and present self?
"Of course it's true!" Ye Jingchen replied affirmatively.
Even if it's not real, he'll make it real.
"Brother Chang'an, you said you'll treat me like your own brother from now on, is that true?" After coming out of the study, Ye Jinghe showed his signature obedient smile and asked Xie Chang'an with great joy.
Ye Jinghe's sudden change almost made Xie Chang'an lose his composure.
He looked at Ye Jingchen with suspicion, wanting to know the reason for Ye Jinghe's change.
"I told Jinghe that you are my best friend, my brother, and that I will treat him like my own brother. He was very happy to hear that. Chang'an, don't let your brother Jinghe down!" Ye Jingchen said meaningfully.
At this moment, Xie Chang'an did admire Ye Jinghe somewhat, because Ye Jinghe's feigned happiness was quite convincing.
At the very least, he can't pretend to be happy.
"Really." He answered Ye Jinghe with two words, his face expressionless.
"Brother, is it that Deputy Commander Xie is unwilling? He's so cold towards me!" Ye Jinghe asked Ye Jingchen, pretending to be a little sad.
He simply couldn't bring himself to call him "Brother Chang'an" a second time; he was afraid he'd make himself sick with disgust.
Xie Chang'an's forehead veins throbbed.
"No, he wouldn't have agreed if he wasn't willing. Since he agreed, he will definitely do it." Ye Jingchen said with amusement when he saw Xie Chang'an's patient expression.
"If there's anything I can't solve in the future, I'll go to Vice Commander Xie for help," Ye Jinghe said, seizing the opportunity.
"You have to call me brother," Xie Chang'an said deliberately.
Ye Jinghe's gaze toward Xie Chang'an suddenly sharpened like a knife.
"Your Highness, come quickly and see your good brother! He's shown his true colors!" Xie Chang'an said hurriedly.
“Brother, your good friend is slandering me!” Ye Jinghe retorted, not to be outdone.
"Let's go to the training ground. I'll practice my shooting, and you two can spar." Ye Jingchen gave up.
There's really no way to achieve harmony.
“Brother, you said Xie Chang’an is your best friend. Even for your sake, I can’t fight with him, so there’s no need for a sparring match, right?” Ye Jinghe tugged at Ye Jingchen’s sleeve, forcing a well-behaved smile.
He didn't want to be woken up by nightmares about Xie Chang'an again!
"We really can't keep sparring. If we develop a habit of holding back, it won't be good if we do it in the future when we encounter enemies," Xie Chang'an said seriously.
"Really? But I saw that you were fast and ruthless when you fought, and you were able to control your moves with ease. Isn't that a good thing?" Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
Xie Chang'an and Ye Jinghe were both speechless.
"We've finished our sparring today. Let's see how you perform tomorrow. If you can get along well, then we don't need to spar anymore." Ye Jingchen gave them a glimmer of hope.
That evening, their sparring wasn't as intense as before; both clearly held back, making it more of a performance than a true exchange.
However, the court was quite lively the next day. The censor impeached several officials in succession, and the evidence was conclusive, so the emperor was immediately busy.
Even a fool could tell that the evidence must have been leaked to the censor by Xie Chang'an.
He first plotted against Ye Jinghe, and after being discovered, he immediately used the censor to stir up trouble, all to keep the emperor busy.
This was exactly what Ye Jingchen wanted to do; he didn't want to be on guard against the emperor's possible underhanded tactics every day.
From that day on, Xie Chang'an and Ye Jinghe finally learned their lesson and stopped clashing, at least not in front of him.
After being urged by the emperor several times, the old imperial physician Zhang handed the emperor a prescription.
It was another afternoon, and despite the emperor's busy schedule, he still took the time to visit the Eastern Palace.
The process was the same as last time: the emperor watched him drink the medicine, left a palace maid behind, and then kept him and the maid in the bedchamber.
This time, Ye Jingchen didn't take any emetics; he planned to rely on his willpower to get through it.
It would be difficult to dispel the emperor's suspicions without taking the blame himself.
The soup brought by Physician Zhang tasted familiar; it wasn't the first time Ye Jingchen had drunk it.
He remembered that when he first returned, after the old doctor Zhang took his pulse, he gave him a bowl of tonic the next day. It tasted exactly like this, and even the reaction after drinking it was the same.
Ye Jingchen sat there, trying his best to suppress the desire and impulse surging through his body. The palace maid had come over at some point and put her hand on his shoulder.
Influenced by the medicinal soup, Ye Jingchen craved touch, but the touch of strangers made his body instinctively resist. The moment the palace maid touched him, he brushed her hand away.
"What's that smell on you? It's awful! Don't come near me!" Ye Jingchen snapped.
As the palace maid approached, Ye Jingchen smelled a somewhat sweet and cloying scent, which seemed to have the same effect as medicinal soup, arousing desire in people's hearts.
Ye Jingchen also admired the emperor. He used both herbal medicine and incense together, and wasn't afraid of causing health problems for the emperor?
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