Chapter 30: After Too Much Effort, I’ve Learned A Lot.

Xiao YuAn’s wounds lasted for several days, and only after the strangled bruises faded away, did he dare to go outside.

On the second day, he dealt with the affairs of the state; and because he was worried that someone would make things difficult for Yan HeQing, Xiao YuAn got distracted while looking at the palace memorials¹. He simply piled the memorials and went straight to Jing Yang Palace.

Hong Xiu wanted to stop him, but Xiao YuAn ignored her.

The year was going to dawn, and the time is fainting. The wind was cold and the clouds were heavy. The snowflakes fell one after another, floating amicably, covering the white ground. The snow in the Northern Kingdom seemed to be falling forever.

Xiao YuAn tightened his robe, patted the snow off his shoulders, and reached to knock on Yan Heqing’s door.

Following Xiao YuAn with diligence, Yang Liuan clenched his fists and said: “Your Majesty, Weichen will wait for you outside the door.”

Xiao YuAn refused: “It’s too cold, go back.”

Yang LiuAn insisted: “Weichen doesn’t feel cold.”

Xiao YuAn grabbed a Snowball and stuffed it into Yang LiuAn’s clothes: “Is it cold or not?”

Yang LiuAn shivered: “…No, no, no, I’m not, I’m not cold.”

You’re shivering and yet you say you’re not cold!

Xiao YuAn didn’t know wherever to laugh or cry: “Go find a warm place to dry your clothes, and then, come back in an hour.”

Although Yang LiuAn was still hesitant, he had to obey His Majesty’s order under Xiao YuAn’s insistence.

The North wind was howling, and his clothes were wet because of the snow. Yang LiuAn stealthily found a small courtyard where willows trees were planted inside the Jing Yang Palace. When he saw no one around, he knocked gently at the door.

“Who is it?” A doubtful voice came from behind the door, not long after, the door was slightly opened.

Yang LiuAn looked at Xiao Fengyue, who was extremely joyful, and sweetly smiled: “It’s me.”

“You, you’re all wet, come in quickly.” Xiao Fengyue hurriedly pulled him inside the room, heated the charcoal basin, put it in front of Yang LiuAn, and went to find some dry clothes. “Quick, remove your wet clothes first, and put these on.”

“Yes.” Yang LiuAn took off his robe and handed it to Xiao Fengyue.

“Let’s change your inner garments too, it’s all wet. Be careful with the wind and the cold.” Xiao Fengyue said worriedly, his eyes full of distress.

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Yang LiuAn’s face showed a blush that was hard to see: “The inner garments, i-it doesn’t matter, don’t worry.”

Xiao Fengyue suddenly realized what was going on. He lowered his head to make his expression unclear, but his earlobes were already painted red. Xiao Fengyue stammered and said: “Y-you go change your clothes. I’ll go to the yard to sweep the snow, go change.”

“Don’t, don’t go outside, it’s too cold.” Yang LiuAn reached out and held Xiao Fengyue’s hand.

Xiao Fengyue’s tone was worried: “No, if you stay in your wet clothes you will get cold.”

Yang LiuAn holds his hand tighter: “I’ll change, I’ll go change my clothes. Just don’t go outside.”

With that said, Yang LiuAn quickly untied his undergarments and hurriedly changed into a set of dry clothes. Xiao Fengyue took the wet clothes and put them to dry by the charcoal fire: “What happened today? Don’t you have to guard His Majesty?”

Yang LiuAn replied: “His Majesty came to Jing Yang Palace, looking for Yan HeQing.”

Hearing this, Xiao Fengyue suddenly sighed.

Yang LiuAn was curious: “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Fengyue explained: “Earlier, I heard some rumors about chasing the wind and clutching at shadows², saying that His Majesty was favoring only one person recently, but I didn’t expect it to be the Prince of the Southern Yan Kingdom.”

Yang LiuAn nervously covered Xiao Fengyue’s hand and held it carefully: “Are you feeling homesick?”

Xiao Fengyue felt like a spring breeze inside his heart, and he smiled gently at Yang LiuAn: “Although the Southern Yan Kingdom is my hometown, I was alone in the world. I don’t have much to miss from there, but now…”

These days, feeling lovesick, exquisite red beans, it can’t be a home without you.

Xiao Fengyue stopped for a while, and looked down at the charcoal pot with little sparks coming out from the fire.

Yang LiuAn didn’t notice the difference, and asked reluctantly, “Why are you sighing?”

Xiao Fengyue sorted out his thoughts and raised his head to answer: “I’m afraid that the Prince of the Southern Yan Kingdom will become the target of everyone here.”

Yang LiuAn didn’t understand: “Huh? For what reason?”

Xiao Fengyue carefully spread out Yang LiuAn’s wet clothes so it would dry better, and then replied: “It’s never a happy event to be the only one to have His Imperial Majesty’s favor. In this Jing Yang Palace, there are too many people doing painstaking efforts to obtain accomplishments. It’s also full of clever people.”

—

Xiao YuAn was also worried about this issue: “Did anyone try to harm you recently?”

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Yan HeQing shook his head.

“How about Hong Xiu, did she do something?”

Yan HeQing shook his head.

“And the House of Internal Affairs? What about Eunuch Zhao?”

Yan HeQing still denied with his head.

Xiao YuAn patted his chest and let out a long breath.

It seems that the skills of the villains are cooling down.

Seeing Xiao YuAn carefree attitude, Yan HeQing frowned: “Why do you want to help me? Although you’re not the Emperor, you can still use this identity to call the wind and summon the rain³, and cover the sky with one hand⁴, right?”

Xiao YuAn raised an eyebrow.

Does Yan HeQing believe him?

But how can I dare to call the wind and the rain? You’re the male lead, you should be the one making the call. You can claim the Northern Kingdom, and make it disappear! Call it!

Xiao YuAn chuckled: “There’s no reason, I just want to be friends with you.”

Yan HeQing said: “Friend?”

Xiao YuAn said: “When a true man conducts himself in a society, he should become the hero of the whole world.”

Yan HeQing’s eyes went on alert, but remained silent.

Xiao YuAn was too lazy to explain it to him, so he moved the stool near the charcoal basin, looked out the window at the howling snow, and rubbed his hands turning his palms to warm himself.

Yan HeQing looked at his actions and said: “Are you…afraid of the cold?”

Xiao YuAn was stunned at first, and then replied: “Ah? Uh huh. I was a Southerner in my past life, so I’m indeed afraid of the cold.”

Yan HeQing asked again: “What was your name during your past life?”

Xiao YuAn filled a porcelain cup with water and with it, wrote his name on top of the round yellow table.

Yan HeQing murmured out, “Xiao, Yu, An.”

“Yes, when there’s no one around, you can just call me by my name.” Xiao YuAn smiled slightly, and the red light of the charcoal basin illuminated his white porcelain face, his eyes were bright and shiny, very indistinct.

Yan HeQing wasn’t convinced, but after a long time watching him, he finally agreed: “Fine.”

An hour later, Yang LiuAn’s clothes were finally dried. After he changed into his inner clothes, Xiao Fengyue carefully helped him put on his robe, fastened his belt and tidied up his lapel.

The two of them looked at each other for a long time, until Yang LiuAn finally closed his eyes: “I’m going back to pick up the Emperor.”

Xiao Fengyue looked out of the window with anxiety: “The snow is so heavy, would you like an umbrella?”

Yang LiuAn shook his head, got up and walked out of the door: “No, I’m worried that someone will get suspicious.”

Xiao Fengyue bit his lower lip and didn’t insist.

Yang LiuAn just opened the door when the wind and snow suddenly blew inside. Xiao Fengyue then remembered something and he pulled back Yang LiuAn, took out a sachet from his sleeve, and handed it to him.

“This is?” Yang LiuAn took the sachet with surprise.

Xiao Fengyue said: “You can’t take the umbrella to protect you, but you can always take this sachet and hide it close to you, right?”

Yang LiuAn rubbed his head and smiled happily and embarrassedly: “Yes, thank you. I will protect it well.”

Xiao Fengyue lowered his head and said: “Go ahead, don’t let His Majesty wait.”

Yang LiuAn closed the door for Xiao Fengyue, carefully placed the sachet inside his inner clothing, and hurriedly walked away holding onto his robe tightly.

The frozen wind was howling all around, the snow falling was so thick that it could cover the ears and make the eyes blind. The whole world seemed to be covered in white, and neither of them were able to see that behind the willows trees planted in the courtyard, stood a person watching them secretly.

Qin Yu observed the silhouette of Yang LiuAn hurrying away, and then took a look at the closed door of Xiao Fengyue. He murmured strange words, and then smiled mischievously, a trace of cunning shining in his eyes.

Footnotes:

Footnotes

1. 奏摺 zòu zhé: A “Memorial to the Throne” (章表 zhāng biǎo) was an official communication to the Emperor of China. They were generally careful essays in Classical Chinese and their presentation was a formal affair directed by government officials. In the Qing Dynasty, because the bureaucracy might interrupt, conceal, or lose information important to their rulers, the Kangxi Emperor developed a supplemental system of “Palace Memorials” (奏摺 zòu zhé) in the late 17th century. This system delivered local officials’ memorials to him directly. A “Folding Memorial”, for instance, was to be written on pages small enough for the emperor to hold them in his hand and read without being observed.
2. 捕風捉影 bǔ fēng zhuō yǐng; It’s a Chinese idiom, it has a derogatory meaning. There is no factual basis for what is said / Groundless accusations / To act without evidence. From 《汉书·郊祀志》(hàn shū·jiāo sì zhì), “History of the Former Han Dynasty – Records of Jiaosi”. Written by (班固 bān gù) Ban Gu [32-92 AC], a historian from the Eastern Han Dynasty [25-220 AC].
3. 呼风唤雨 hū fēng huàn yǔ; It’s a Chinese idiom, as a metaphor describes someone that can control the great power of nature, which has a positive meaning. It’s also often used to refer to a person who is interested in inciting trouble. From 《罨溪行》(yǎn xī xíng), “A Trip to the River”.
4. 一手遮天 yī shǒu zhē tiān; It’s a Chinese idiom, it refers to relying on power, playing tricks and hiding the truth from the masses. From 《读李斯传》(dú lǐ sī chuán), “Studying the Biography of Lisi”. Written by (曹邺 cáo yè) Cao Ye [816-875 AC], a poet from the Tang Dynasty [618-907 AC].

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