Chapter 184 The Powerful Minister Returns to His Youth 38.
Yu Shiqing kept watch through the night, not daring to fall asleep, and immediately noticed Ye Zangxing's change.
What you fear most is what will happen.
Yu Shiqing's heart tightened, and he immediately took some pebbles that he had prepared beforehand and picked up from the riverbank, stuffed them into the fire, and heated them until they were slightly hot.
He wrapped the pebbles in his clothes and placed them on Ye Zangxing's neck, back, waist, abdomen, and feet. Then he wrapped the rest of his clothes and himself up completely and carried him closer to the fire.
This was a method he learned from the villagers in the northern desert in his previous life to ward off the cold and evil spirits.
Block the air vents, work up a good sweat, then clean yourself up, change your clothes, and clear the airflow; this should help dispel the cold.
“Xuan Shu, Xuan Shu…”
Yu Shiqing called softly, his voice low and hoarse.
Ye Zangxing kept his eyes closed and did not respond, only a sickly redness rose on his pale face.
Yu Shiqing hugged him tighter, warming his palms and pressing them against his forehead and temples.
Ye Cangxing curled up, burning hot, like a ball of fire about to melt.
The young man, who was about to turn twenty, practiced martial arts regularly and was full of yang energy. Logically speaking, he should not have been harmed by a cold. Yu Shiqing knew this, but his heart still sank.
In the latter half of the night, snow began to fall in the mountains and forests, and the deep mountain cliffs became even more silent, with no sound except for the distant howls of wolves and roars of tigers.
Beneath the rock face, the fire crackled softly, its flames flickering in the wind, casting erratic shadows.
Yu Shiqing shielded most of the wind and snow with his back and waist, kept adding firewood and warming the fire, and called out softly to Ye Zangxing.
Ye Zangxing slowly began to sweat, and the high fever on his body seemed to be subsiding. Yu Shiqing became even more careful, holding him completely in his arms and gently wiping away his sweat.
Halfway through wiping away the sweat, Ye Zangxing suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Yu Shiqing's forearm.
Yu Shiqing paused, his movements halting.
"Qingqing, Qingqing..." Ye Cangxing did not open his eyes, but his eyelashes trembled like frightened butterflies. His brows furrowed, and his pale, slightly dry lips uttered breathy sounds, which were so indistinct that they seemed like nonsense.
Qingqing?
Or perhaps, my love?
Although Yu Shiqing had already guessed, he still couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart. He stared at Ye Zangxing's flushed face, lowered his head, and moved even closer. Ye Zangxing's voice became clearer.
He seemed to be sighing, or perhaps choking back tears.
"I miss you so much, Qingqing," he sighed, his voice choked with emotion, "I want... to go back to see you, to go back..."
Yu Shiqing held his breath slightly. He grasped Ye Zangxing's hand and pressed it against his forehead.
"Xuan Shu, Xuan Shu," he whispered, "wake up, open your eyes and you'll see me..."
Ye Zangxing seemed lost in a dream, unable to hear Yu Shiqing's voice. His brows furrowed even more, and his lips trembled as if he were dying: "It's my fault, Qingqing... I... can't go back, Qingqing..."
"Qingqing..."
Ye Zangxing exhaled scorching breaths, his words turning into mist in the wind and snow.
With a whoosh, the wind and snow seemed to intensify, instantly piercing through Yu Shiqing's back.
His heart and lungs instantly felt icy cold.
In a daze, he heard the voice of the guard who had delivered the thin note in his past life: "His Majesty... passed away at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM). He couldn't finish writing a single word before he could no longer pick up the pen, and he could no longer speak clearly. He just wanted people to leave the doors and windows open, looking north... and keep looking, refusing to close their eyes..."
The emperor looked north, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
Yu Shiqing had countless nightmares, driven to near death by these eight words, as if someone was gripping his heart and forcibly tearing it out of his body.
My love, my love.
He calls him in his dreams, and he calls him in his presence.
Yu Shiqing's hand, which was gripping Ye Zangxing's waist, tightened unconsciously, almost drawing blood-like marks.
As if unable to bear it any longer, Ye Zangxing parted his lips slightly and uttered a soft, murmuring call.
"Qingqing..."
Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, and beads of sweat streamed down his forehead and cheeks like rain.
“Qingqing…” Yu Shiqing’s voice was very low, carrying the wind and snow from the bottom of the cliff, “Does Your Majesty know what ‘Qingqing’ means?”
The person in his arms had their eyes closed, brows furrowed, and lips damp with sweat; they did not respond.
Yu Shiqing suddenly smiled, took Ye Zangxing's hand, placed it on his chest, and pressed his forehead against Ye's. His hair was loose, and his slightly damp, black hair, like black feathers, hung down and covered the sweat.
"I love you dearly, that's why I call you my dearest... You and I were young ruler and subject, sharing wealth and hardship, bound together in life and death, no different from young husband and wife... Did you say these words?"
Yu Shiqing closed his eyes, taking in the warmth of the person in his arms, and said, "Just telling a lie."
"We can't embrace, we can't kiss, we can't stop each other, we can't die together... Where in the world can we find such a couple?" Yu Shiqing's jaw tightened, almost drawing blood. "I suspect you hate me, Ye Zangxing... that's why you're trying to harm me."
The wind and snow intensified, and like a hungry tiger, it pounced on the young man's back.
The young man's hair and cheeks were wet, icy cold, covered in snowflakes.
Suddenly, a breath of hot air spread out, dispersing the hazy, fine white light.
"Yes... I hate you, I hate that you live through the years without ever pitying me or loving me..."
Yu Shiqing was stunned, then suddenly looked up and met a pair of dreamlike eyes.
He opened his mouth in a daze, but his tongue felt sore and he couldn't utter a word.
"Were you scared?"
Ye Zangxing's lips curled into a smile, a smile that Yu Shiqing knew all too well appearing on his pale, flushed face. This smile did not belong to the current Sixth Prince, but to the future Emperor Qian Ding.
“Hidden…” Yu Shiqing said.
"It was a joke."
Ye Zangxing interrupted him, "That's the truth too."
The boy, panting hotly, slowly closed his fingers, gripping Yu Shiqing's chest as if squeezing his heart through skin and ribs. "I just had a dream, Danzhi... It's a dream I've had since I was little. But it's always been shrouded in mist; for so many years, I've never seen it clearly, never heard it clearly."
"Abbot Shouxin said, 'This may be due to innate wisdom, or perhaps I have too many unresolved attachments from my past life that cannot be washed away by the Meng Po soup or the River of Oblivion...'"
"I've thought about it for a long time, but I don't know what's unforgettable..."
His eyelashes trembled slightly. "Today, the fog has lifted... I can see clearly, I can hear clearly..."
Separated by wind, snow and firelight, Ye Cangxing and Yu Shiqing gazed at each other, their eyes like willow branches in the wind, intertwined and inseparable. "You and I are the same, also people from a past life... I am not reconciled, even if I turn to ashes in the wind, I will still come to your temples."
"You're from Huai'an, have you heard that song?" Ye Zangxing's voice was a little hoarse as he softly recited, "The north wind howls, the cold river is empty, the smoke rises and the golden osmanthus sways sadly. The soul scatters like fireflies, the spirit becomes floating duckweed. You are the unburnt paper, and I too am reborn as a butterfly..."
"The inscription weeps, the wild grass falls," Yu Shiqing closed his eyes, hot tears rolling down his cheeks, "At the bottom of Meng Po's bowl, between Jingwei's beaks. Past lives and present lives, karma, karma... is it illusion, or reality?"
“It’s true,” Ye Zangxing said.
Upon hearing this, Yu Shiqing could no longer contain his excitement. He suddenly lowered his head, tightened his arms, and hugged the person tightly, as if he wanted to embed himself into their flesh and blood.
Ye Zangxing hugged him tightly, burying his face deep into Yu Shiqing's shoulders and neck, greedily inhaling his breath.
Outside the cliff, the wind and snow were fierce. After a long winter, Huai'an was finally blanketed in a heavy snowfall.
Inside the rock face, two people, covered in sweat and trembling uncontrollably, clung tightly to each other, their hair soaked with sweat.
Yu Shiqing didn't know why he was crying.
After he reached a certain age, he inexplicably stopped crying; he seemed to be able to swallow all his bitterness and pain without letting it flow. But tonight, he felt neither bitterness nor pain, yet tears streamed down his face endlessly.
Ye Cangxing brushed away his tears with her moist lips, and kissed him intimately as if feeding him a piece of candy.
Yu Shiqing greeted him, stroked the back of his neck, and devoured him.
Snowflakes rushed in, and the flames hissed and burned even higher.
Ye Cangxing wrapped her arms around Yu Shiqing's neck and sat in his lap, her legs trembling as she propped herself up under his clothes. "I want you, Qingqing... In this life and the last, ever since I met you, I have always... longed for you."
"Wandering by candlelight at night, sleeping side by side, the Eastern Palace, the northern desert... the Taiji Hall of the Imperial City, so many times... I fell drunk in your arms, hoping you would kiss me, touch me, but you just held me like that, as if holding an ordinary drunken friend..."
"However... back then, even if you hadn't refused, I wouldn't have dared to really..."
"Between ruler and subject, it is mostly the subject's reputation that is ruined. You are someone who should be remembered for generations, and you should not be implicated by me..."
He spoke indistinctly, his Adam's apple trembling between Yu Shiqing's teeth.
Yu Shiqing's tears had dried, and he raised his eyes, which were dark and deep. Ye Cangxing was shocked and dared not look closely.
"I have never cared about being remembered for generations. I prioritize serving the country and its people, and I value practical matters above all else. What does it matter if my reputation is good or bad? If I have any wish, it is simply to cherish the people in front of me."
Ye Zangxing paused, his heart and mind heavy with emotion.
He breathed softly, tightened his legs, and moved even closer.
Yu Shiqing raised his arm to stop him: "You still have a fever, and there's nothing here..."
Ye Zangxing suddenly lowered his head and bit down on the side of his neck.
Yu Shiqing's throat bobbed, and his brows furrowed suddenly, not in pain, but as if he were in unbearable discomfort.
"Zangxing... spare me," Yu Shiqing pleaded hoarsely as she caught her breath, "Once you're better, I'll do anything you ask... okay? I hurt you tonight, and now I have to hate someone for twenty years?"
He spoke with such deep emotion, as if he were about to pour out his heart.
Ye Zangxing, however, only heard three words.
"Twenty years?" The eyes that had been filled with a mixture of sorrow and joy, and an overwhelming surge of passion and desire turned around, becoming incredibly clear in an instant. "You mean... twenty years?"
Ye Zangxing's lips trembled. "In your previous life, how old did you live to be?"
Yu Shiqing paused, realizing he had misspoke. His expression remained unchanged as he straightened Ye Cangxing's clothes, calmly saying, "Seventy-three, a rare age, comparable to that of Grand Secretary Li. Before you went south, I promised you I would protect the Great Qi for you, so how could I..."
He couldn't continue speaking halfway through his sentence.
Ye Zangxing looked at him, his eyes seeming to have already seen the truth.
“I…” Yu Shiqing opened his mouth, but before he could finish speaking, Ye Cangxing suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself in the face.
Yu Shiqing was taken aback and suddenly raised his hand to grab Ye Zangxing, who was about to strike a second time.
Almost simultaneously, five finger marks quickly appeared on Ye Zangxing's face.
"Hidden Star!"
"I deserve it."
Ye Zangxing remained calm, tears streaming down his face along the fingerprints. "Ultimately, it was my unstable empire that forced me to personally travel south to quell the chaos in Jiangnan after the rebellion, and it was my duty to investigate the mystery of my brother's rebellion. No matter how many other reasons I had no choice, it was all my doing."
"I thought I was fully prepared, but even after handling everything, there were still some who slipped through the net, secretly watching. You... died young in your past life because of me, I'm the one who harmed you..."
“Should we talk like this between you and me?” Yu Shiqing interrupted him.
Ye Zangxing stopped speaking, looked at Yu Shiqing, his eyes filled with an unyielding fog and clouds.
Yu Shiqing felt a pang of sadness, his brows trembling slightly. "That painting, 'Old Friends in New Autumn'... I've already burned it."
Ye Zangxing was taken aback.
“The past is the past,” Yu Shiqing said.
Ye Zangxing's tears paused: "You're always like this..."
"Does this cause you to have such mixed feelings of love and hate?" Yu Shiqing smiled.
Ye Zangxing shook his head, closed his eyes, and could not speak.
Yu Shiqing sighed, slowly raised his finger, and ran it through Ye Cangxing's hair, gently stroking it: "Alright, your fever has finally gone down a bit. Extreme joy or sorrow is not good, so don't let me ruin all my efforts."
Ye Zangxing lowered his head.
Yu Shiqing touched his face again, not wanting him to think too much. "We've been apart for a long time. Tonight it's snowing, and it's just the two of us here. If you want to... be good, don't do anything reckless, but I won't make you feel bad either, okay?"
Ye Zangxing paused, then slightly raised his eyes.
The surging desires and emotions from just now had mostly subsided with the passing of those twenty years, but he still longed for Yu Shiqing, especially at this moment…
“I’ll help you…” Ye Zangxing said.
Yu Shiqing smiled, said nothing, just kissed him, lifted his waist, and made him sit comfortably in his lap.
"Don't move..."
Yu Shiqing lowered his eyes, as if he wanted to devour the person but couldn't bear to. He restrained himself yet greedily extended his lips and tongue, tracing the red marks on the temples and neck.
Ye Zangxing instantly grabbed Yu Shiqing's shoulder.
Yu Shiqing gently stroked the person, her breath subtle and incredibly tender.
Ye Zangxing's jaw trembled, his hands were enveloped, his chest heaved, and he felt dizzy.
"Yu Shiqing," he cried, "just kill me..."
"How could I bear to part with it?" Yu Shiqing sighed softly.
Ye Zangxing was out of breath.
The scholar's calloused hands slowly caressed her.
Ye Zangxing tightened his calves, his body trembling as he hid under layers of clothing, drenched in sweat.
He was extremely impatient, yet unwilling to avoid it, staring intently at Yu Shiqing the whole time, his damp cheek pressed against Yu Shiqing's other palm, as if he were melting away with the hot sweat.
Yu Shiqing felt her heart pound under his gaze, then captured his lips and kissed him deeply.
What a sweat!
All the past—resentment and anger, infatuation and love—seemed to have dissipated and vanished with those dazed screams, the trembling of the mind, and the mournful weeping, leaving only lingering affection, as unchanging as a river or the sea.
After an unknown amount of time, the wind and snow in the deep mountains stopped, and the sweat and heat inside the rock face subsided.
Yu Shiqing and Ye Cangxing both quieted down, their expressions relaxed, and they nestled together in a corner, talking in hushed tones.
Ye Cangxing stared blankly, as if in a past life, completely relaxed in front of Yu Shiqing, saying whatever came to mind without logic or order, rambling on like the idle chatter of ordinary people at the table or on the kang (heated brick bed).
Yu Shiqing was like someone from a previous life, mostly listening and occasionally responding, which meant he was always there.
Gradually, Ye Zangxing's voice became blurred and disappeared.
After suffering from injuries, high fever, and a lot of turmoil, Ye Zangxing finally couldn't hold on any longer. Surrounded by a familiar and cherished scent, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Suddenly, the rock face fell silent.
Yu Shiqing slowly lowered his head, gazing at the peaceful, disheveled, and somewhat wretched face in his arms for a long, long time.
The wind stopped, the clouds dispersed, and the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn.
The fire died down, and a dim light shone in, illuminating Yu Shiqing's eyes.
Those eyes, dark and blank, buried for who knows how long in the decaying years, seemed to have finally emerged from a cold winter, witnessing the melting of the old snow and glimpsing the brightness of the spring sun.
That day, Yu Shiqing said to Afu, who was also reborn, "Care about what you should care about."
And so, tonight, at this hour, the floating duckweed and wandering souls of heaven and earth, half of them settled at the graves of their loved ones by the Fei River, and the other half lingered at dawn, between the brows of their beloved.
...
"It should be somewhere nearby! Search, search quickly!"
As dawn broke, Yu Shiqing was awakened from his light sleep and heard familiar voices in the distance.
At almost the same time, Ye Zangxing also opened his eyes and looked at him, his expression seemingly stunned.
"It's not a dream."
Yu Shiqingdao.
Ye Zangxing was taken aback for a moment, then laughed as if the clouds had parted and the fog had cleared. He jumped up and hugged Yu Shiqing tightly, giving him a kiss on the neck. Yu Shiqing laughed too, embraced him, and gently kissed him back.
"Hurry up and get dressed, someone's looking for us..." Yu Shiqing said softly, stopping the kiss abruptly.
Ye Cangxing clung to him, reluctant to let go: "So hasty...it's just like a pair of wild lovers having an affair, but unfortunately, they didn't succeed..."
As he spoke, he glanced at Yu Shiqing.
Overnight, this former young emperor seemed to have truly shed his past and regained the youthful spirit that Yu Shiqing both envied and loved.
Yu Shiqing had no choice but to reply as he had the night before: "I'll make it up, I'll definitely make it up."
Ye Cangxing withdrew his gaze, a smile playing on his lips, and leaned closer to tie the belt around the disheveled scholar's waist.
Fifteen minutes later, at the foot of the cliff, by the forest.
Zhao Wei shouted with delight, "Sixth Prince, Mr. Yu! We've finally found you!"
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