Chapter 157 The Powerful Minister Returns to His Youth 11.
When Ye Zangxing regained consciousness and opened his eyes, it was already the next day, and the sun was high in the sky.
The autumn sun was bright and its rays were pouring down. He raised his hand to press his forehead and turned over, feeling a bit of a headache.
His movement was immediately heard by Xile, who was standing outside. She quickly lifted the curtain and rushed over to help him up. "Your Highness, you're awake?"
"No need," Ye Zangxing waved his hand. "Water."
Xile quickly brought over the tea, which was kept warm on the small stove, neither too hot nor too cold, just right.
Ye Zangxing took the tea and gulped it down like a cow, only then did he feel the dryness in his throat ease a little and his mind become less drowsy.
He put down his teacup, glanced down at his clean and brand-new undergarments, paused as if remembering something, and said, "Xile, I'm asking you, last night... who brought me back?"
“Master Yu,” Xile said as she added more tea, “Your Highness has drunk too much and is too drunk to remember anything. Although we servants were with you last night, we were all in the shadows as you instructed. We saw that although you were drunk, Master Yu was still sober and could escort you. In addition, Master Yu gave a secret signal that he didn’t need us, so we didn’t show ourselves and just escorted you in secret…”
"A code?" Ye Zangxing looked up. "What code?"
"The secret codes among the royal guards, you even changed many of them from that set. Didn't you tell Scholar Yu about them?" Xile frowned and said, "Your Highness, it's not that I'm being talkative, but one should always be wary of others. You and Scholar Yu have only met twice, and you've already revealed such a secret. Even if it's just a few codes, I still feel it's inappropriate. I hope you'll reconsider and prioritize your own safety..."
Ye Zangxing was taken aback, something flashing quickly in his eyes.
But before Xile could see anything, he had already closed his eyes and said lazily, "Alright, your prince has his own plans, stop nagging. Quickly, prepare breakfast... no, let's go straight to lunch. If it's any later, your prince will starve to death."
"Your Highness, please watch your words!"
With a bitter face, Xile offered a helpless word of advice, then went out to call someone in to arrange for washing and meals.
However, before he could even take a step, Ye Zangxing's voice suddenly came again: "By the way, Xile, when Danzhi saw me off last night, was there anything... amiss?"
"Wrong?" Xile was stunned for a moment, a little confused.
"Well... he or I didn't really lose control, did we?" Ye Zangxing said, "For example, acting drunk and disorderly, hitting people randomly, or hurting family members..."
Upon hearing this, Xile quickly shook her head: "Of course not!"
After saying that, he quickly added, "Your Highness, please rest assured. Although you enjoy drinking, you rarely get drunk. On the few occasions you have, you have always been very quiet, falling asleep immediately without any loss of composure or decorum. Scholar Yu is not a heavy drinker, so naturally he won't either."
"If I had to say something, perhaps you haven't drunk that much in a long time, so you were quite drunk and talked a lot, but that's alright. At most, you were just a little confused. Before leaving the restaurant, you kept accusing Scholar Yu of stealing wine and even poked Scholar Yu's mouth with your finger..."
"But that's all, there's really nothing else! Don't worry!"
Ye Zangxing's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his brow furrowed very gently.
Seeing this, Xile vaguely sensed something was wrong, her heart tightened slightly, and she carefully lowered her voice: "Your Highness?"
Ye Zangxing slowly opened his eyes: "Xile, do you believe in reincarnation?"
Xile paused for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, are you dreaming again? Your headache from drinking hasn't subsided yet, so don't overthink it. Didn't Abbot Shouxin of Huguo Temple say that this is some kind of predestined wisdom or something? It's not a bad thing, but you shouldn't think too much about it. What's true is true, and what's false is false..."
Ye Zangxing was speechless. He glanced at the little eunuch who was shaking his head, waved his hand to signal him to get lost, then leaned back and fell back into the bed curtains.
Joy lowered his head dejectedly, quickly left, and silence returned to the room.
Ye Cangxing raised his eyes, staring intently at Sha Qing's bed curtains, his gaze as deep and unfathomable as water, "It was never a dream..."
He murmured silently.
...
Yu Shiqing had no idea what Ye Zangxing was thinking at that moment.
Today is the day he moves into Weiwen Academy. Early this morning, he checked out of the inn, carried his luggage up Yushan Mountain, and has now received the key to his dormitory and is tidying up his room.
The dormitory was shared by four people, but because Yu Shiqing was a latecomer and had the status of a top scholar in the provincial examination, the teacher gave him priority to be assigned an empty dormitory when there were extra rooms available.
Therefore, although it is said that four people live together, this room is actually only occupied by Yu Shiqing.
At this moment, as he listened to the wind and falling leaves outside the window, he quietly tidied his things while unable to stop himself from recalling the many scenes from last night.
The aroma of wine, the sounds of people, and the bustling street all night long.
And Ye Zangxing.
"His composure was too poor; he almost lost his composure. Fortunately..." Yu Shiqing shook his head and sighed.
Just like last night, we were close and intimate. This was the first time in this life, but in past lives, we must have had countless such encounters.
Ye Cangxing loved wine, but to avoid making mistakes because of it, he was very restrained and rarely drank to his heart's content. The few times he remembered were when he was alone with Ye Cangxing. Once he got drunk, he would cling to Ye Cangxing, hooking his neck, hugging his waist, and clinging to his legs. No matter how old he was, he would act like the little boy he had met when they first met, insisting on staying with Ye Cangxing.
Unwittingly, they pressed their lips together, touched their ears, and fell onto the narrow chaise lounge, their hair tangled and their chests pressed against each other—this was almost a common occurrence. Yu Shiqing was initially alarmed, but later realized that this seemed to be merely Ye Zangxing's drunken state, not intentional.
He felt a bittersweet mix of emotions, and from then on, he remembered that he must never let Ye Zangxing get too drunk, otherwise he would suffer greatly.
Even though it was tough, it felt like I got used to it back then, and it didn't seem too difficult anymore.
But last night was different.
They hadn't drunk together for twenty years.
For a full twenty years, he had not been so close to...the one he loved.
How can he endure this, how can he maintain his composure?
If he hadn't retained a sliver of reason and known that there were guards nearby, he would have lost control and kissed her passionately.
They were so close...
Yu Shiqing picked up the books.
The last time this happened seems to have been a long time ago, in late autumn.
At that time, the rebellion of Prince Yong had just been quelled, and Ye Zangxing wanted to make a southern tour. He pulled Ye Zangxing into the palace, and the two drank three large jars of imperial wine on the long steps of the Zhaixing Tower.
He was slightly tipsy, but dared not get drunk, while Ye Cangxing's eyes were already glazed over.
The young emperor, with hazy eyes, rested his head on his chest, his palm pressed near his heart, drawing a scar.
After drawing it countless times, the emperor lowered his head, lowered his eyes, and almost pressed his lips to the thick official robe.
His breath seeped through the gaps in his clothes, shaking Yu Shiqing's heart.
"My dear, when I return from this southern tour, you will grant me one request, will you?"
"Your Majesty did not refer to yourself as '朕' (Zhen), so you were asking Yu Shiqing about Ye Zangxing, not as a ruler asking a subject?" Yu Shiqing did not remember his expression at the time, but he did remember what he said.
“Yes,” the emperor said, “it was Ye Zangxing who was asking Yu Shiqing, not the emperor asking the minister.”
"If the ruler asks a question, and the ruler fails, the subject will not answer even if he dies ten thousand times. But... Ye Zangxing asked Yu Shiqing, when has Yu Shiqing ever failed to answer?"
That night, the Star-Picking Tower was filled with stars. Yu Shiqing looked up at the sky and said, "If Ye Cangxing returns safely, Yu Shiqing will agree to anything, even if it means that he never leaves the capital and never leads troops on adventures again."
Did Ye Zangxing respond?
Yu Shiqing didn't remember much; he only remembered that month after month, Ye Zangxing didn't return.
The last volume of the book in Yu Shiqing's hands was placed into the compartment.
He looked up at the ginkgo leaves fluttering outside the window, his mind filled with countless thoughts.
Just as Yu Shiqing was lost in thought, the small door next to the ginkgo tree was suddenly pushed open. A person poked his head out, looked around furtively, then quickly slipped in, closed the door, and walked into the courtyard.
After walking a few steps, the man seemed to sense something and suddenly called out, "Hey!" Yu Xiaoyan turned his head.
Their eyes met, one inside the window, the other outside.
"You, you!"
Bao Shaojie's eyes widened instantly.
Yu Shiqing had already snapped out of his daze when Bao Shaojie appeared. He laughed upon hearing the voice and bowed slightly, saying, "Brother Bao."
Bao Shaojie glared at him, gritting his teeth, and said, "You...you still have the nerve to call me Brother Bao? You ruined my life yesterday, do you know that? I bombed my painting exam, and the teacher said I couldn't hand in a blank paper, so he made me paint something on the spot. The whole room was laughing at me! I don't care if you're the top scholar or not, just tell me, how are you going to compensate me for this!"
Yu Shiqing shook his head: "Brother Bao, you are mistaken. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't mean I should have to pay compensation, does it?"
Bao Shaojie said, "You impersonated the artist I hired and attracted so many people..."
Yu Shiqing smiled, "Brother Bao, please calm down. Let's sort this out. First of all, you've mistaken me for someone else; it wasn't me who intentionally impersonated you, was it?"
Bao Shaojie's face twitched: "Indeed, but..."
"Secondly, it was you, Brother Bao, who was poor at drawing but tried to hide it and ended up making a fool of yourself. This was neither something I deliberately designed nor something anyone intentionally orchestrated, right and wrong?"
"Yes, yes, but..."
“Brother Bao loves painting. Even if one is not skilled in painting, one should not demean this art by finding someone to take the exam for you. This is entirely Brother Bao’s fault. Do you acknowledge this?”
"this……"
“Even the painting exam, which can be considered a ‘side path’ in the academy, still requires following the rules. Brother Bao found someone to take the exam for you, which broke the rules, but you were not punished. This was thanks to the teacher’s leniency and the commotion caused by my painting, which prevented anyone from exposing your cheating. Is that right?”
"It seems...right?"
Bao Shaojie's brows were furrowed, his face blank, as if he were a little dazed.
Yu Shiqing stood by the window, his smile gentle. "In that case, Brother Bao shouldn't blame me; he should thank me instead."
He glanced at the sun outside. "It's almost noon, time to go to the dining hall. Since Brother Bao wants to thank me, why don't you treat me to my first meal at the academy?"
“Well, that’s fine…” Bao Shaojie responded subconsciously.
Seeing this, Yu Shiqing's smile deepened. He pulled the man along and quickly headed for the dining hall. The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Bao, who would become a decade or so later, would be difficult to fool, but the young scholar Bao Shaojie was still quite naive.
As you walk through the academy, you are surrounded by the fragrance of books.
Bao Shaojie was no fool to have passed the imperial examination and become a Juren. He knew that Yu Shiqing was trying to confuse him, but the truth was indeed as Yu Shiqing said. The root of the problem was him. He deserved to suffer the loss, and he was not punished because he used the excuse that "Yu Shiqing used his painting table, which attracted attention and made him forget to paint."
Although this scholar Yu had tricked him, he actually began to look at him with new respect.
Being friends doesn't seem like a bad idea?
Bao Shaojie hesitated for a moment, then, seeing that they were almost at the dining hall, he cleared his throat twice and was about to speak when an old servant suddenly turned towards him.
"Scholar Yu, my master invites you to have a chat."
The old servant bowed, paused, and then added, "By the way, my master's surname is Qiu."
Author's Note:
Here we go!
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