Huo Xian stormed in, setting bottles and jars noisily on the table. Without a word, he removed the bandage from Ji Yuluo’s hand, reapplied the medicine, and rewrapped it. When she tried to pull her hand away, he wouldn’t let her.
She frowned and said, “What are you doing?”
Huo Xian replied seriously, “The bandaging was too hasty. I’m redoing it.”
Before Ji Yuluo could argue, he had already tied a knot efficiently.
He then got up, pulled the curtain aside, and said, “Stand up. Besides your forearm, where else are you hurt?”
As the moonlight disappeared, Ji Yuluo’s vision dimmed.
She said, “I’m not hurt.”
Huo Xian looked her up and down, his imposing stance and height making her feel pressured. Ji Yuluo did not like him standing so directly in front of her; it made her instinctively feel threatened.
So she stood up, looking at him inexplicably.
Huo Xian raised an eyebrow, “Are you going to tell me, or should I undress you?”
“……”
Ji Yuluo thought for a moment, lifted her skirt, and revealed a small scratch on her ankle.
She looked at Huo Xian uncertainly.
The injury was trivial. For a martial artist, bumps and bruises were inevitable. As Shen Qingli said, these were nothing more than scratches to her. If Huo Xian hadn’t asked, she wouldn’t have even noticed.
Huo Xian kicked a stool over for her to sit on.
His movements in treating the wound were so skilled that Ji Yuluo had already noticed—this level of expertise came from treating many such injuries.
She looked down at his prominent nose and said, “It’s almost August. Are you sure you can get the medicine from Zhao Yong?”
Huo Xian finished applying the medicine to her ankle, stood up, and dusted off his hands, saying, “The only thing left between him and me is this bit of friendship. If I die, he won’t survive either. He knows that well.”
After speaking, he asked, “Where else?”
Ji Yuluo moved her left arm and said, “My shoulder hurts.”
Earlier, when that burly man leaped down, his strike had been fierce. Although Ji Yuluo blocked it solidly, the impact had numbed her entire arm. At the time, she didn’t feel anything, but now it was starting to hurt slightly.
Huo Xian loosened her muscles and bones, suppressing his irritation, and sneered, “Oh, I thought you were so tough that it wouldn’t hurt.”
His sarcastic tone was unmistakable.
Ji Yuluo slowly looked up at him.
Their eyes met, and Huo Xian’s hands stopped moving.
Ji Yuluo said, “Two hours. What did you talk about with the master?”
Huo Xian’s grip on her shoulder tightened slightly. “I didn’t ask what you and he talked about. Why are you asking me?”
“I’ve endured your cold treatment all night for no reason. Shouldn’t I know why?” Ji Yuluo feigned an innocent expression and said, “Although I’m his subordinate, this is a bit too much, isn’t it, Lord Huo?”
Huo Xian leaned closer, looking at her from an uncomfortably short distance. “Innocent?”
His eyes seemed to say: You, innocent?
He stood right in front of her as Ji Yuluo sat on the stool. Suddenly, she lowered her head and stepped on his black boot.
Once wasn’t enough; she stepped on it twice.
Not too hard, not too light, but it felt like she was teasing him. To Huo Xian, each step felt like it was pressing on his heart.
He thought, maybe he’s having another episode.
Huo Xian took a deep breath and was about to stand up straight, but Ji Yuluo grabbed his belt and pulled him back down.
One was bending over, the other looking up.
In this position, they kissed for a moment. Ji Yuluo held onto the token hanging from his waist, a token with the word “Jin” engraved on it, tracing the character with her fingertip until it was damp.
When they separated, Huo Xian was panting, his voice hoarse. “Ji Yuluo, you’re really pushing it.”
He glanced at the hairpin on the top of her head. He had never found it so annoying before. Without thinking, he yanked it out and tossed it onto the table with a clang.
Then he looked at her again.
The kiss hadn’t dissipated his anger; instead, it ignited it further. Huo Xian felt even more stifled and thought Ji Yuluo was a bastard.
A heartless bastard.
She didn’t know anything, taking advantage of her ignorance to act recklessly. She had no heart, no conscience. He felt like strangling her.
The heartless person suddenly paused and said, “By the way, the Jinyiwei are now under intense scrutiny. The mansion is not safe, and there’s more trouble to come. The capital isn’t safe either. Sheng Lanxin is a woman. To be safe, why not send her out of the city?”
Huo Xian gave her a deep look. She seemed so loyal and compassionate towards others.
He had considered this too, so he said, “I’ve already prepared a house for her outside the city just in case. I’ll send her out in a few days.”
Ji Yuluo said, “That’s good. It’s a tumultuous time, and you can’t do without people by your side. The journey is long, and even men face difficulties. I’ll have Chaolu and others escort her.”
Huo Xian thought for a moment and then agreed, but cast a glance at her and asked, “Why are you planning on her behalf?”
Ji Yuluo fiddled with her earrings and said, “She’s good to me, so I’m naturally good to her. Repaying kindness with kindness, what’s wrong with that?”
–
Gongzhou.
Xiao Yuanting was hurriedly shoved into a carriage by the manor’s steward under the pretext of ancestor worship. The journey felt like an escape, with no time for rest and no stops allowed, traveling day and night until they arrived at a small county called Yuanxi in Gongzhou.
The old Xiao family residence was here.
Xiao Yuanting returned to the old residence, his whole body aching with exhaustion, and slept for three days before he recovered.
However, after three days, he discovered that the servants in the house were particularly troublesome, following him everywhere.
It was extremely annoying.
They regulated everything, even his comings and goings to brothels!
Xiao Yuanting lost his temper, slightly intimidating the servants. They feared the young master, and the steward only instructed them to keep a close watch and avoid crowded places, not to forbid him entirely. So they turned a blind eye when needed.
However, after a few days of indulgence, Xiao Yuanting was no longer satisfied.
Yuanxi was just a small county, nowhere near as bustling and interesting as the capital. Even the courtesans in the flower houses were not a tenth as captivating as the young ladies in the capital.
Boring, utterly boring!
Xiao Yuanting spent a night in the tender company of the courtesans and was lying listlessly in the carriage when he suddenly heard cheers and shouts not far away. He opened his eyes and lifted the curtain to see that it was a stone gambling event.
A spendthrift like him had a particular interest in gambling.
Before he could call for the carriage to stop, he noticed a familiar figure.
Seeing an old acquaintance in a foreign place, Xiao Yuanting smiled instantly, but the person gestured for silence and pointed towards the Xiao residence.
Xiao Yuanting was puzzled. What was this about?
Upon returning to the Xiao residence, he waited and waited, but nothing happened even after nightfall. Finally, unable to resist his drowsiness, he was about to order someone to help him to bed when he heard two knocks outside the door, “Young Master.”
Xiao Yuanting unguardedly opened the door.
Standing outside was Liyang, who respectfully cupped his hands and said, “Young Master Xiao.”
Xiao Yuanting invited him inside and curiously asked, “Why are you here? If you’re here, does that mean Zhe’an is here too? Take me to him quickly; I’m bored to death!”
Liyang replied, “My master is not here. I followed a fugitive to Yuanxi County. Since it’s official business, I couldn’t make a fuss to avoid alerting the criminal. In a few days, I’ll be meeting my master in Tongzhou. I must ask the young master not to mention that the Jinyiwei have been here.”
Tongzhou.
Xiao Yuanting’s interest was immediately piqued. Tongzhou was prosperous, governed well by Prince Ning, and, being far from the capital, had a unique charm. He had heard there were many exotic beauties there and had long wanted to visit.
He grabbed Liyang’s sleeve, “Good Liyang, take me with you. I promise not to cause any trouble. When we return to the capital, I’ll reward you with a large estate, alright?”
Liyang hesitated, “This…”
Xiao Yuanting quickly lowered his voice, “Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone know. We’ll leave quietly.”
“Alright,” Liyang reluctantly agreed.
–
During the autumn of Meng1Meng: refers to the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which typically falls around late July to early August in the Gregorian calendar., the northern temperatures remained high.
Since Marquis Xuanping’s leg ailment had begun to flare up, he seldom visited the training camp. But recently, he had become diligent again, returning home with his armor drenched in sweat.
Madam Qin helped him undress and sighed, “In this heat, why do you push yourself so hard every day? Your leg just got better; be careful not to aggravate it again. Training the troops, training the troops, it’s not like you need to lead them into battle right now.”
Marquis Xuanping moved his lips, but seeing Madam Qin’s overly worried face, he swallowed his words.
They say, “One is born from hardship and dies from ease.”
His troops had been resting in the capital for too long, now rusted and dulled, lacking the speed and sharpness of their former days. It was necessary to reinvigorate them.
But he couldn’t explain this to Madam Qin.
Since Huo Jue’s death, Madam Qin had been in constant low spirits, devoting all her energy to nursing Huo Cong back to health without any results, which only increased her worry, adding more gray hairs. Why add to her troubles?
Marquis Xuanping said, “You know, Madam, I can’t sit idle.”
Madam Qin placed the armor on the table and said, “I’ve heard the court has been unsettled recently. The Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review have arrested several court officials, all of whom were colluding with the eunuch faction. Will the Northern Zhenfu Division be implicated?”
Marquis Xuanping’s face changed slightly, and he turned away, “That ingrate, I knew he’d stumble sooner or later. He deserves it.”
“And if that day comes, will you spare his life?” Madam Qin stared directly at him.
After a brief silence, Marquis Xuanping turned around to find Madam Qin’s eyes red-rimmed. He quickly supported her by the shoulders and said, “What are you thinking? He cut ties with our Huo family long ago. Whatever happens to him is his own fate. Why would I do something so foolish?”
Madam Qin shed tears and said, “Marquis, you must remember not to be soft-hearted. If you had been soft-hearted when he harmed our son, I would never have agreed. Back then, I took pity on Zhu, who sold herself to bury her father, and brought her into the household. Who knew she’d turn around and use underhanded methods, even daring to poison your tea with that despicable drug… They, mother and son, are both heartless!”
Marquis Xuanping patted Madam Qin’s back. The events of the past were like a thorn in his heart too.
Huo Xian resembled his biological mother too much. Hence, in the past, no matter how he looked at him, he felt Huo Xian was like her—too deep-minded, unscrupulous in actions, even worse in some respects. He was more troubling than anyone else.
“Marquis, Marquis!” The captain drove his horse at full speed, arriving at the marquis’s mansion. Without waiting for an announcement, he burst in, calling through the door, “The Emperor, the Emperor has passed away!”
Marquis Xuanping pushed the door open, “What did you say?”
Before the captain could repeat, the death knell sounded with a “dong.”
The heavy sound resonated, piercing through clouds and rocks.
Marquis Xuanping’s eyes widened. He looked towards the direction of the palace, stunned for a moment, then rubbed his forehead and paced back and forth. Of all times, the Emperor had to choose this tumultuous autumn to pass away.
–
Xie Subai sat by the window. At the sound of the death knell, his eyes, which had been peacefully closed, suddenly opened.
Surprise and calmness flickered in an instant.
He paused for a moment, his body gradually relaxing.
Beneath the pupils reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, there was almost a cold indifference devoid of any emotion.
