Chapter 11 - 2#

Leisure: You even gave birth to a “son” for me…#

“Usually when we practice archery and riding, I wouldn’t say we hit every time, but it’s at least ‘fifty out of a hundred.’ Yet with you, Brother, it’s ‘zero out of a hundred.’”

“Go away, go away, go away!” Bian Mingyu said loudly. “The four of you, one sentence each, it’s giving me a headache!”

The brothers’ banter was very interesting. Yanzhi cupped his face, looking at them with a smile in his eyes.

“Eldest brother, I haven’t even spoken yet. I want to say, maybe if we followed His Majesty up the mountain, His Majesty would have taken a fancy to us.”

“Forget it.” Bian Mingyu’s face crumpled with a complex expression. “His Majesty doesn’t even fancy a dashing nobleman like me, so how could he fancy you several blockheads?”

“How could he not? What if?”

Bian Mingyu scoffed. “My father already tipped me off. We are absolutely, definitely going to be rejected, so don’t daydream. This is a rare opportunity; we’ll just play here for a few days and then go back.”

“How can Uncle be so sure?”

“Hmph, because His Majesty likes that Yanzhi.”

Yanzhi suddenly heard his own name and couldn’t help sitting up straight, wanting to leave.

Seeing his nervousness, Xie Yi was the first to stand up and sit between him and Bian Mingyu, separating them and shielding Yanzhi behind him.

He heard Bian Mingyu lower his voice and continue, “Can’t you tell? His Majesty just likes that Yanzhi. Wherever he goes, he has to carry him along, like carrying a purse, for fear of losing him.”

“My father saw through it at a glance. So that night at the victory banquet, as soon as he returned, he told me not to get involved in the selection. You shouldn’t think about it either, don’t try to get close to His Majesty. If trouble arises, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

“Understood.” The four brothers solemnly clasped their hands. “Thank you for the tip, Brother.”

Yanzhi lowered his eyes and couldn’t help but refute softly, “His Majesty doesn’t like Yanzhi.”

This was something His Majesty had said himself.

Lord Bian and Young Master Bian were really overthinking it.

After all, it was about His Majesty and his male favorite. No matter how bold Bian Mingyu was, he didn’t dare discuss it excessively.

The group quickly changed the subject, talking about food, drink, and fun.

“Don’t say it, I’m really a bit hungry. I miss the sugar cakes from the Yang family shop.”

“I miss them a bit too. The roasted meat is too salty; I’m getting a bit tired of it.”

“Useless. When my father’s salary comes in, I’ll take you to the south to play. The pastries there are even more delicious.”

“Great, great! Thank you, Brother!”

Yanzhi cupped his face and said softly, “The south isn’t fun.”

Bian Mingyu had sharp ears and heard him. He suddenly turned his head to look at him: “Nonsense, the south is very fun!”

“Not fun,” Yanzhi said. “In the south, it’s either mountains or rivers. There are no sugar cakes to eat, only dry rations.”

“That’s because you went to the wrong places and ate the wrong things.”

“When I went…”

Yanzhi was about to say he had been there, but then he thought—

He had been to the south, yes, but…

It was many years ago, when he followed His Majesty to war.

At that time, the mountains and waters of the south were battlefields to him, places he walked through step by step, holding a weapon and following His Majesty.

On the battlefield, he saw blood and corpses.

He lived in the army camp and ate military rations transported from Liangdu in the north.

By now, the Southern states of An and Chen had long been conquered by His Majesty, and the people had recovered. It should be a different scene.

Yanzhi realized this and hurriedly apologized: “Sorry, I was wrong.”

He admitted his mistake so readily that Bian Mingyu was momentarily at a loss for words.

“It’s fine.”

He looked at this person and suddenly felt they looked familiar. He frowned, wanting to lean in for a closer look.

“You…”

Xie Yi blocked Yanzhi and cleared his throat: “Young Master Bian, please do not be rude.”

“Oh.” Bian Mingyu curled his lip and sat back obediently.

Yanzhi cupped his face, his thoughts flying far, far away.

—Is the south fun?

—Is it fun outside the palace?

—The sugar cakes from the Yang family shop they mentioned, are they delicious?

Xie Yi turned back and said softly, “Young Master Yanzhi, if you want to eat them, I’ll ride a horse to buy some now. I can probably be back by the afternoon.”

Only then did Yanzhi realize he had voiced these thoughts without knowing it.

He quickly covered his mouth and waved his hand: “No, no, no, no need to trouble yourself.”

“I’m afraid I cannot fulfill your wish to go out of the palace to play, but a piece of sugar cake is still possible. The debt of saving my father is as heavy as a mountain. Even if you want me to go through fire and water, I would not hesitate.”

“No need, no need,” Yanzhi said. “I… it’s not like I’ve never been out of the palace.”

He puffed out his chest, full of confidence: “I was only sold into the palace when I was eight. Before I was eight, I lived outside. These years His Majesty has been campaigning far and wide, and I have followed him everywhere.”

Yanzhi smiled and said, “I’m not locked in the palace; I’ve been playing outside all the time.”

Xie Yi nodded: “I see.”

Turning his head away, the smile on Yanzhi’s face slowly faded.

Actually…

Before he was eight, he lived in that remote and poor little mountain village. Every day he was either carrying a bamboo basket up the mountain to pick mushrooms or climbing trees to pick wild fruits.

Later, following His Majesty on campaigns, what he saw was the smoke of war and fields of corpses.

Calling it “playing” was truly a stretch.

But it’s okay! Nothing is good outside the palace anyway!

He is so stupid and doesn’t know how to make money; he only knows how to serve His Majesty. He wouldn’t survive outside the palace.

It’s good to stay in the palace like this.

*

Yanzhi stayed outside for a while, watching others shoot arrows and chatting with Xie Yi, asking him what books he had been reading lately.

Xie Yi not only answered seriously but also explained the content of the books to him.

Yanzhi understood only half of it. Finally, he comforted Xie Yi, saying His Majesty didn’t like him and probably wouldn’t choose him in the selection; he just had to go through the motions.

That way, when the exams came next year, he could go and take them.

Xie Yi said, “Thanks to your kind words, that would be for the best.”

Yanzhi finally said, “You will surely become a great official and benefit the people.”

Xie Yi nodded: “Thank you.”

Before long, the sun was high, and it was almost time for lunch. Yanzhi stood up to bid him farewell.

Yanzhi clutched his cloak and walked quickly in front.

To avoid being seen, Xie Yi followed far behind, seeing him back, and only turned to leave after watching him enter the Emperor’s tent.

At lunchtime, His Majesty had not yet returned.

Yanzhi still ate lunch alone in the tent. After eating, he felt sleepy.

After a short nap, he didn’t dare go out again, so he picked up the storybook to continue reading.

Not being discovered this time was due to his good luck. He couldn’t risk being found by His Majesty by sneaking out to play again.

Having a morning of fun was already very satisfying for him.

Yanzhi sat on the couch, obediently reading.

It wasn’t until evening, when the sun set, that he still hadn’t seen His Majesty return, but he did see Xie Yi.

Since His Majesty was away, there were no personal guards outside the tent.

Xie Yi’s hair was slightly messy, and his clothes were stained with dust. He took something wrapped in a lotus leaf from his bosom and casually set it down as he passed the front of the Emperor’s tent.

He then deliberately called out “Young Master Bian” to someone in the distance to alert Yanzhi.

Bian Mingyu was confused: “Who’s calling me? What for?”

Yanzhi recognized his voice, ran to the front of the tent, and picked up the lotus leaf.

Opening the package, there were two pieces of sugar cake inside—one white sugar, one brown sugar. They were shiny, soft, and still warm.

Sugar cakes from the Yang family shop.

He really had ridden a horse to buy them.

Yanzhi held the sugar cakes, ran back into the tent, hid on the couch, and ate them bit by bit.

So sweet! Delicious!

No wonder those noble sons liked eating them; he liked them too.

After finishing the sugar cakes, Yanzhi carefully rinsed his mouth to wash away the sweetness. Finally, he crumpled the lotus leaf into tiny pieces and tossed them outside, letting the fragments scatter with the wind.

There, now His Majesty wouldn’t find out.

But His Majesty…

Even after the sky turned dark and the moon came out, His Majesty still wasn’t back.

Was he still hunting at night?

Could His Majesty have actually encountered a tiger?

Yanzhi suddenly felt a bit worried. He went to ask the attendants and guards, but they said they didn’t know.

He stayed alone in the tent, waiting anxiously by the candlelight for His Majesty to return.

First watch, second watch, third watch…

It was too late. Yanzhi slumped on the couch and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of tigers again.

This time, the tiger wasn’t chasing him, but His Majesty.

His Majesty was riding a warhorse, drawing his bow and shooting an arrow, hitting the tiger in the eye.

He wanted to shout for His Majesty to run, that he didn’t want the tiger skin anymore, he never wanted it.

But he couldn’t make a sound at all. He could only worry in his dream, watching His Majesty provoke the fierce tiger and shoot at it.

—“Your Majesty!”

Yanzhi woke up from his dream again, snapping his eyes open.

—A yellow, black, and white beast’s fur suddenly bumped into his vision.

“Ah!”

Yanzhi cried out, clutching the quilt and kicking his feet, retreating repeatedly.

He was still dreaming! Still having a nightmare!

“Help… help! Help…”

—“Fool, it’s dead.”

A man’s cold voice came.

Yanzhi looked up. There was a candle lit on the table, its light faint. His Majesty had returned at some point, wearing his armor and sitting on the small couch.

There was dried blood on the armor, and his whole body emitted a strong scent of wild beasts.

Xiao Cuan was holding a bowl of meat porridge in one hand and a piece of meat cake in the other, leisurely eating a midnight snack.

Only then did Yanzhi realize that what he saw wasn’t a tiger, but a tiger skin.

At some point while he was sleeping, he had been placed on a giant tiger skin.

He looked at His Majesty in disbelief.

His Majesty had hunted a fierce tiger during the day?

His Majesty even skinned the tiger and, while he was asleep, carried him onto the tiger skin to let him sleep on it.

Yanzhi clutched his chest, feeling his little heart racing.

Scared to death… scared to death…

Just then, there seemed to be something alive under the blanket beside him.

The blanket moved slightly. Yanzhi flinched and quickly retreated to the corner of the bed.

Xiao Cuan took a sip of meat porridge and looked over with a neutral gaze.

In the next moment, a small, dark, round head wobbled out from under the blanket.

It looked like a puppy.

Yanzhi was stunned.

What was this? Why was this on the couch? Did it crawl in by itself? How did he not notice?

Yanzhi couldn’t understand.

Seeing him frozen in place, Xiao Cuan put down the bowl, got up, stepped forward, and picked up the “puppy” by the scruff of its neck.

“Tsk, I went out hunting for a day, and you gave me a ‘son’ at home.”

“Born well, both father and son are safe.”