Chapter 89 [VIP]
"..." Xue Yi opened his eyes, and what came into view was the elaborate flower windows of the main hall.
The lattice windows naturally use a gemstone-like material, with beautiful patterned paper as the base. The patterns include flying birds, colorful azaleas, crimson crows, and various gemstone patterns. These elements come together to form a beautiful kaleidoscope pattern.
The world turned into a blanket of white, a large spoonful of white sugar fell from the clouds, and the bright white light fell on the window. The soft white light, different from the sun, gave people the illusion of being in the clouds.
The brazier burning in the hall made the room very warm. Looking into the lifelike eyes of the bird, it was as if the cold winter had faded overnight, and spring had returned with light. The young man beside him quietly guarded the bed. The book in the young man's hand turned, emitting a bitter fragrance. When he saw him wake up, his brown eyes slightly lifted to look at him.
The young man's eyes were calm and serene, as clear and cold as a pearl before his soul. The long candle in front of the Buddha cast a halo around him, gently comforting him.
Regardless of what others do, this person always embraces the sharp thorns and bloody barbs that pierce them with a soft touch, easily turning hostility into friendship.
"Brother is awake?" Lu Xuejin put down her book and asked him, "Should we call a doctor?"
He had been incredibly resolute on the road, longing for the young man before him day and night. But upon seeing him, upon witnessing the young man's unsteady demeanor when they met, all his unwavering conviction vanished. Now, the man before him had returned to his former self. When they looked at each other, they concealed their previous lapse in composure.
He watched as two shadows emerged beneath his and Lu Xuejin's feet. The twin shadows nestled together, and with just a glance at each other, they could sense something unusual. The closer they got, the more they understood each other, and the more they fused certain emotions into a mask, playing some ridiculous role for each other.
In a daze, he saw a small figure growing out of his shadow under the kaleidoscope, a figure that resembled his younger self. He watched his younger self touch the young man beside him, wanting to touch those clear yet ruthless eyes, to touch the young man's heart, to delve deeper and see what was hidden there.
"No need." He suppressed the metallic taste of blood in his throat, feeling as if his chest was rotting along with his throat the more he looked at the person before him. He closed his eyes, refusing to look at the person.
A sliver of light shone through the window through the gap in his eyelids. The young man's figure was in the center of the kaleidoscope. He sensed the other's gaze falling on him, and the air fell silent.
He didn't know how long he had been watching him when he suddenly heard a slight noise. The young man beside him washed his handkerchief with warm water from a basin. He felt a cool sensation on his cheek. Taking care of patients was very easy for the young man. The cool breath fell on his cheek, and the young man carefully wiped his forehead.
From his forehead to his cheeks, from his temples to the bone of his nose, from his chin to the corner of his lips.
After wiping his cheeks, he wiped the young man's neck, letting him do as he pleased, his eyelids drooping heavily. Waking up now… was merely a coincidence. A fleeting image flashed through his mind of Changyou's slightly startled expression upon seeing him. That expression was so subtle it was almost imperceptible, yet he caught it.
Thinking of the young man's expression, he sensed that the illness had transformed into a bluish-green poisonous mist filling his chest. His body had become a swamp for the growth of an emotion called jealousy, which turned him into ghostly specks. He was like a withered straw that could easily be uprooted from the swamp.
“It snowed yesterday, and I heard it was a heavy snowfall that the capital city has seen only once in a century. I think it’s a blessing and a fortunate encounter not only for my brother and me, the people of this capital city, but also for the soldiers heading to the capital city,” Lu Xuejin said.
As Xue Yi listened to the young man's voice, the gentle tone seemed to float lightly beside his ear. With each soft word, his heartbeat slowed, and his consciousness drifted into an unknown realm.
Even after he fell asleep, the pain didn't let him go. A deep, persistent ache churned from the depths of his body, seeping into his veins and internal organs, causing his head to slump downwards, pulling his body into an unfathomable abyss. He saw his body rotting from the inside out, the decaying, moldy bones faintly visible. A mist that had grown within him since his youth swirled around him, a black mist that blurred his vision, turning his surroundings into a chaotic, suffocating blur of gray light and shadow.
A figure emerged from beside his moldy little bed. A boy in red stumbled in from outside, carrying a basin of water. The freshly boiled water was steaming. The boy in red had bright eyes, red lips, and white teeth. Looking at him on the sickbed, a joyful emotion flickered in his eyes.
"Brother, you're awake? Father isn't here today, so he asked me to take care of you. Are you feeling unwell? Let me wipe your hands."
"Don't worry, although it's been a long time since I've done this, I haven't forgotten any of the steps. First, choose a handkerchief that your brother likes. How about this one? It's embroidered with wisteria, and there are many medicinal herbs on it."
The boy in red picked out a handkerchief, dampened it with hot water, and gently wiped his palms with it. The gentle touch covered the needle marks, and because the hot water was so hot, his skin steamed and turned red.
"Brother, get well soon. Wei Ning and I are very worried about you. When you get better, I'll invite her to our residence. I promised her, she wants to see you!"
The voice of the boy in red gradually faded from his memory. In Xue Yi's dream, the seasons changed, like the kaleidoscope he saw. Sometimes it shimmered with the brilliance of gems under the bright spring sun, sometimes it turned into the shimmering tides of the emerald green summer sea, sometimes withered leaves fell and turned into moths flying towards the fire of the autumn sunset, and suddenly it was covered with a layer of white snow.
The crystal-clear amber reminded him of Changyou's eyes. The colors were incredibly beautiful, more intricate and vibrant than a kaleidoscope, so intense that being inside them always felt tainted, leaving one unsure of what to do.
"Yes... I'm here, so please don't worry."
"General, I would like to trouble you to go there. The end of the year is approaching, and we must not let the people be saddened."
"His Majesty has come all this way to the capital, and should establish a reputation for benevolence and righteousness, not tarnish his holy name for personal reasons. As for General Xiao's decision, let him choose."
Xue Yi opened his eyes and saw two figures at the doorway in the twilight. The main hall was still filled with the warmth of burning incense, and in the dim light, Lu Xuejin was whispering with Wei Ning. He had already overheard their conversation.
He didn't react for a long time, thinking he was still dreaming. If he wasn't dreaming, why was Changyou still here? The hot water in the copper basin beside him was still steaming, and the red-clad boy from his memory emerged from the cracks of the past, merging with the young man before him.
Lu Xuejin and Wei Ning heard the commotion from his location. Wei Ning looked over, his face showing undisguised joy.
"Awake...? Xue Yi?" Wei Ning came to his side and looked at him. His tense expression relaxed a little, and his eyes, which had been red and sore from being outside, curved into a smile.
Wei Ning: "I thought something bad was going to happen... You got better as soon as Changyou came. Your illness is so strange, how are you feeling? Are you feeling any better? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
He was too embarrassed to accept Wei Ning's concern and quietly replied, "...It's alright. There's no difference from before."
He glanced at the young man not far away, his gaze lingering on him for a long time. The young man met his gaze, his eyes devoid of any emotion, no different from when they were in the palace.
“I have consulted the doctor, and it’s nothing more than a sudden surge of anger. Brother, please don’t worry. With us by your side, what is there to be upset about? Past events are just fleeting clouds; don’t dwell on them,” Lu Xuejin said.
"..." He stared into the young man's eyes, wanting to get closer and see the emotions hidden in them.
“I’m getting better, and I should thank Changyou. I’ve always troubled you since I was a child, and I feel uneasy about it,” he said.
Lu Xuejin: "It's not much trouble. Taking care of my brother is my duty. Please don't take it to heart."
As the young man spoke, he wet a handkerchief with hot water. The handkerchief touched his skin, wiping away the sticky sweat from his palms.
“It’s okay if you don’t get better,” Lu Xuejin said quietly, lowering her eyes. “I will take care of you.”
In the city of the Hu people.
Murong Yue glanced at the sky outside. The snow seemed endless. He grabbed a handful of snow from the courtyard and rolled it into a snowball in his palm. He threw the snowball onto the eaves of a distant roof, causing a layer of snow to fall on the eaves of his uncle's palace. To him, this supposedly once-in-a-century snowfall was simply a sign of bad luck from the sky.
"Hey, Sister Hongying, with such heavy snow, why don't you stay at the door and watch me to see if I'm tired and take a rest?" Murong Yue asked.
Hongying, who was guarding the door, said upon hearing this, "I'm not tired. Your Highness doesn't need to worry. You should stay here in the manor."
Murong Yue: "It's too boring staying inside. I want to change places. I'm going to check on Sister Lan Yue's tents. I hope they haven't been washed away by the heavy snow."
As he was about to leave, he was stopped by Hongying's curved sword. Hongying showed the blade without hesitation. The blade was silvery and shiny, and looked like it could sever his tendons at any moment.
Hongying: "This is the king's order. Your Highness, please don't put your subordinate in a difficult position."
Murong Yue had no choice but to obediently return to his room. He paced back and forth until midnight, listening to Hongying's movements outside the door. The snow fell even heavier in the middle of the night, and taking advantage of the rustling sound of the snow pressing down on the window, he escaped the room in the chaos. He was already very familiar with his uncle's residence and quickly evaded the eyes and ears of the Hu soldiers.
At midnight, heavy snow began to fall. Murong Yue walked more than ten kilometers, from the Hu tribe to the outskirts of the capital. In the distance, he could see that the capital was still brightly lit at night. Since the city gates were not open at night, he could only wander to a nearby village and find an empty house to stay in.
In this desolate wilderness, the villagers had gone to bed early because of the accumulated snow. He did, however, encounter an old woman who had come from Lingnan. She had crossed several mountains to reach the outskirts of the capital, having gathered medicinal herbs from the mountains. The soil in the capital was different from that in Lingnan, and these herbs could not grow there. The old woman had traversed mountains and valleys just to sell her herbs.
Murong Yue happened to witness this. Seeing the old woman struggling to walk in the snow, he decided to help her. He carried her herb basket and escorted her to a nearby inn, giving her some money before going to a dilapidated house to rest.
The sky brightened in the blink of an eye.
Inside the capital, Xiao Qi had heard the message from Lu Xuejin the day before, so she sent a soldier to deliver it and also sent Wei Ning to persuade him. This persuasion made him seem like a ferocious demon, intent on killing the people of the capital.
"That Lu Xuejin, always meddling in my business. Do you think I don't know my limits? Do you think I need him to send someone to deliver a message?" Xiao Qi sneered.
The soldier who delivered the message was punished by standing all night. Their Wuling Army underwent the most arduous training in the entire Great Wei, and this rigorous training forged their extraordinary willpower, one of the reasons for their invincibility. Upon hearing this, the soldier lowered his head and was kicked twice more by Xiao Qi, who was still furious.
Xiao Qi: "You want me to be polite, huh? Men, go and investigate them one by one. Anyone who provides information on the whereabouts of the Ninth Prince will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver and exempted from military service, or even granted a military rank and a thousand acres of land. From today onwards, no one may leave or enter the city at will. Anyone who wants to leave or enter the city must be personally investigated by this general."
"Go quickly—"
Xiao Qi stood guard at the city gate with a group of soldiers. With him there, the soldiers dared not be careless. The imperial edict had only been issued that day, and by early morning, batches of people had been waiting outside the city gates. Some were people returning from the capital, while others were villagers from the surrounding area who needed to enter the city. Xiao Qi only allowed a portion of those who needed medical treatment or to sell medicine to enter; they would be allowed into the city only after he had examined them.
As luck would have it, the old woman who came to sell medicinal herbs misheard the announcement. She was carrying her medicine basket when she heard "Those going to the clinic, please come in," and she limped after her.
When the soldiers brought out Murong Yue's portrait, the old woman recognized him as the boy who had helped her in the middle of the night. After recognizing him, she didn't know what the soldiers wanted with him and remained silent for a moment.
Xiao Qi noticed the old woman's troubled expression and suddenly said, "Auntie, take a good look. This is my long-lost younger brother. He has been playing in the capital for several days and has not returned home. If you see him, you must tell me where he is. My whole family is worried about his safety."
Although the old woman was ignorant of court affairs, she had heard that General Xiao was a butcher by trade and had a younger brother who was much younger than her. Hearing Xiao Qi say this, and finding that the age and appearance matched, she told Xiao Qi what she had seen and heard outside the city the day before. She even told Xiao Qi the direction in which Murong Yue had left the day before, worried that Xiao Qi might not be able to find him.
Xiao Qi had been extremely agitated for several days because he hadn't been able to find the person, but now he had found him effortlessly. It seemed that heaven hadn't been unkind to him after all. He laughed heartily, his narrow, exquisite pupils turning bloodshot.
"Don't worry! I will definitely find the person. Give me these medicinal herbs, and I will buy them all at ten times the price."
Xiao Qi dismissed the old woman. The old woman watched as the imposing general gathered his soldiers, snowflakes falling on their cold armor, and they trudged through the snow towards the city gates.
Unaware of what was happening, Murong Yue woke up in the courtyard. He had been freezing in the house all night and sneezed in the morning. He rubbed his nose, guessing that perhaps his brother was missing him. He thought of the young man's appearance and couldn't help but tuck his sleeves into his pocket, preparing to go into the city to surprise his brother Changyou.
He wanted to see what kind of birthday gift Changyou had prepared for him.
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