Chapter 22 - 2#
Yanzhi hurriedly raised his head: “I’m sorry, I…”
“While lying in bed recovering, I was thinking—”
“If only I hadn’t gone out of my way to bring Young Master Yanzhi sugar cakes back then.”
“If only I hadn’t followed Young Master Yanzhi into the corner of the palace wall back then.”
“If only I hadn’t acknowledged Young Master Yanzhi as a good friend back then, that would have been better.”
Yanzhi’s eyes turned red in spite of himself, and his mouth pouted, looking as if he were about to cry.
“I’m sorry, I… I’ll leave right now…”
Xie Yi changed his tone: “However, after hearing that Young Master Yanzhi also had a major illness in the palace, I calmed down and reconsidered. This matter truly cannot be blamed on Young Master Yanzhi; I should blame myself.”
“If it happened again, I would still bring sugar cakes to the Young Master to repay his kindness, I would still acknowledge him as a good friend, and I would still follow him.”
“Besides, Young Master Yanzhi meant well, and I didn’t want to participate in the selection. Because of this matter, I incurred His Majesty’s displeasure and escaped the selection; it can be considered a blessing in disguise, a good thing.”
“I would not want to lose a rare good friend just for the sake of resentment.”
Yanzhi nodded vigorously: “Mm mm, I wouldn’t either!”
The two looked at each other and smiled in the deep candlelight.
Yanzhi said seriously: “This matter can’t be blamed on you, nor can it be blamed on me. We should blame His Majesty!”
If not for His Majesty’s capriciousness, they wouldn’t have encountered such things.
Xie Yi smiled. It was not appropriate for him to follow Yanzhi’s words, so he changed the subject: “Why is Young Master Yanzhi here?”
“I…” Yanzhi paused and said in a small voice, “I escaped from the palace. Actually, it’s not really escaping; I have a deed of manumission, it’s just that His Majesty doesn’t know yet.”
“I see.” Xie Yi nodded. “Where does Young Master Yanzhi plan to go?”
“I want to go to the south to see.”
Xie Yi understood: “Last time at the hunting grounds, Young Master Bian mentioned the south, and Young Master Yanzhi took it to heart?”
“Yes.” Yanzhi nodded. “I want to go and taste the snacks in the south.”
“That’s good.”
The two of them sat around the candlelight and charcoal brazier, chatting for quite a while.
Yanzhi finished a large bowl of ginger soup and slurped down a large bowl of vegetable porridge.
Outside, the wind and snow continued, so Xie Yi kept him at the estate for a night, to set off tomorrow.
Yanzhi had originally intended to stay overnight, so he didn’t refuse. Covering himself with a quilt and holding Tanggao, he blew out the candle and soon fell into a deep sleep.
*
In the capital of Daliang, the city gates remained tightly closed.
Xiao Cuan held a long halberd, moving like a lion patrolling its territory among the crowds of commoners.
No, no, none of them were Yanzhi!
After looking at all the waiting commoners and not finding the person he was looking for, Xiao Cuan turned and left without looking back.
“Release them!”
“Yes!”
Several soldiers accepted the command with cupped fists and opened the North City Gate for the commoners to pass through.
Xiao Cuan came before his warhorse, grabbed the reins with one hand, flipped onto the horse, and rushed to the South City Gate without pause.
He had personally searched the East, West, and North city gates; now only the South City Gate remained.
From the time he went to the grand wedding ceremony until he discovered Yanzhi was missing and ordered the gates closed, only a short quarter-hour had passed.
Yanzhi didn’t know how to use makeup or change his appearance, nor could he fly or burrow into the ground. How could he vanish into thin air?
How could he not be found?!
Xiao Cuan became increasingly irritable, swinging his halberd fiercely and racing through the streets like an arrow.
In just a moment, he arrived before the South City Gate.
General Wang, who was in charge of guarding the South City Gate, stepped forward and bowed: “Your Majesty.”
Before the horse had even steadied, Xiao Cuan flipped off the saddle: “Has he been found?”
“Replying to Your Majesty… it is your servant’s incompetence.”
Holding his halberd, Xiao Cuan again passed through the commoners.
General Wang lowered his head and followed him in silence.
As expected, he still hadn’t been found.
Xiao Cuan waved his hand, ordering the release once more.
He stood in place, seemingly having completely lost his direction, not knowing what to do next.
No one was found at the four gates, and a search of the palace yielded nothing.
Could it be that Yanzhi had found a place to hide?
Impossible. This matter was causing a great stir; every commoner in the city knew the government was searching for someone. No one would dare risk disobeying the government’s order to hide Yanzhi.
Yanzhi had no friends outside the palace; where would anyone take him in…
Wait!
Xiao Cuan suddenly regained his senses and asked sharply: “Where does Xie Yi live?!”
Xie Yi…
It must be Xie Yi!
The more Xiao Cuan thought about it, the more it made sense!
Outside the palace, Yanzhi only knew Xie Yi.
It must be Xie Yi; it must be Xie Yi who hid him!
He knew, he should have known long ago, that Xie Yi had been harboring ill intentions toward Yanzhi!
He shouldn’t have been afraid of making Yanzhi sad back then and spared Xie Yi! He should have had Xie Yi castrated immediately!
Soldiers led the way; horse hooves were hurried, crossing long streets and turning into small alleys.
Xiao Cuan dismounted. Just as he was about to kick open the wooden door, he suddenly thought of something, retracted his foot, and instead knocked on the door.
He was afraid that if Yanzhi heard the sound of the door being kicked, he would be scared away.
He took two deep breaths, trying his best to calm his mind.
Stay calm, be patient, don’t scare Yanzhi away.
But in the next moment, seeing that no one came to open the door, Xiao Cuan increased his force and pounded heavily on the door.
The door leaves shook; they were almost pounded to the ground.
“Where are the people?!”
Xiao Cuan finally couldn’t hold back and kicked the stone wall next to the door.
Still no one came to open the door, but instead a neighbor opened their door and looked out from inside.
“Officer, don’t knock anymore. No one is at this household.”
“Everyone is gone?”
“Yes. This household is just father and son. The old one went to the military camp to train, and the young one was injured a while ago and went to an estate outside the city to recover. There was also an old servant who left with the young one.”
No one—how could there be no one?
In the next moment, Xiao Cuan could no longer restrain himself and kicked open the Xie family’s gate.
“Go in and search!”
“Yes!”
The Xie family residence was not large. The personal guards behind him swarmed in and searched the Xie family thoroughly, even checking the rice vats and water jars.
Indeed, no one was hidden.
Xiao Cuan turned to leave and finally said sternly—
“Go find out where the Xie family estate is!”
*
The snow had just stopped, and the daylight was breaking.
A sharp bird cry came from the distance, piercing the silence of the forest.
Xiao Cuan brought a dozen or so personal guards, on light horses, through the mountain paths.
Xiao Cuan led the way. The wedding gown he wore was heavy; he had taken it off before setting out and given it to a personal guard to take back to the palace, with orders not to damage it.
He was now only wearing an inner garment. The garment was thin, and the melting snow was freezing, but he was sweating.
Xiao Cuan was busy looking for people and hadn’t slept all night.
He gritted his teeth, his face taut, and there was no trace of fatigue in his eyes, only the obsession with finding Yanzhi.
He both hoped Yanzhi was at Xie Yi’s and hoped Yanzhi wasn’t at Xie Yi’s.
He wanted to find Yanzhi, but he didn’t want to find Yanzhi at Xie Yi’s, let alone see Yanzhi and Xie Yi together affectionately.
No! Wrong!
Last night was so cold, and it snowed. If Yanzhi didn’t go to Xie Yi’s and hid outside alone like a little stray cat, he would definitely have frozen to death.
Xiao Cuan gritted his teeth and changed his mind.
Fine, fine.
As long as Yanzhi is alive, it’s fine.
Whether he goes to find Xie Yi, or Zhao Yi, Chen Yi, Wang Yi—as long as he’s alive, it’s fine.
As for other things, he didn’t care anymore.
Thinking this, Xiao Cuan pulled the reins again, making the horse speed up.
Before long, a personal guard behind him said: “Your Majesty! We’ve arrived! The Xie family estate is just ahead!”
The warhorse snorted and panted, as if it couldn’t walk anymore. Xiao Cuan didn’t care about it, abandoned the horse, and strode forward.
He pounded on the door twice.
“Who is it? So early in the morning.”
The old servant was draped in clothes, as usual, opening the door only a small crack.
Xiao Cuan pressed the door with one hand and stepped over the threshold with one foot, bracing the door.
He looked through the crack: “Is Xie Yi here? Did a young master around seventeen or eighteen come to find him last night?”
“This guest…”
Just then, the door opened, and Xie Yi, draped in clothes, limped out from inside.
“Grandfather, do not be rude.” Xie Yi bowed deeply in salute: “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Xiao Cuan didn’t pay any attention to him, only asking: “Where is Yanzhi?”
Seeing Xie Yi still saluting, Xiao Cuan strode into the courtyard and looked around: “I’m asking you, where is Yanzhi?”
Xie Yi said: “Young Master Yanzhi is Your Majesty’s personal attendant; he should be in the palace. After I left the palace, I haven’t seen Young Master Yanzhi.”
Naturally, he wouldn’t admit it.
Xiao Cuan didn’t expect him to say it either.
Xiao Cuan simply led his personal guards and began a search, room by room, from left to right.
“Your Majesty…”
Xie Yi saw the bad situation, exchanged a look with the old man, and hurriedly stepped forward.
Yanzhi hadn’t left yet. Searching like this, he would definitely be discovered!
“Your Majesty, this is my private residence. Even though Your Majesty is the ruler of the world, you shouldn’t…”
“Get out!”
Xiao Cuan didn’t look back, just opened the doors one by one and searched one by one.
Without him needing to command, two personal guards stepped forward, grabbed Xie Yi’s arms, and held him up.
As Xiao Cuan searched, he said: “Yanzhi only knows you outside the palace. He has nowhere to go; he will definitely come to find you.”
“Tell him that I have already decided to appoint him as Empress. Tell him to return to the palace quickly, return to my side, and I will not hold it against him.”
“If you call him out now, I can spare your life—”
Seeing the Emperor getting closer and closer to the room where Yanzhi was staying, about to search it, Xie Yi’s heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat poured down, soaking his clothes.
“Your Majesty!”
Xie Yi shouted, and with strength from nowhere, broke free from the restraint of the two guards, rushed forward, and blocked the bedroom door.
“Your Majesty, this is my wife’s bedroom. I ask Your Majesty to consider a woman’s reputation and not enter…”
Before he could finish, Xiao Cuan frowned, and his gaze darkened.
Xie Yi had just participated in the selection a while ago; where would he have a wife?
Did he think he was a fool?
Or, did he consider Yanzhi his wife in his heart?!
He too? He too deserves? He too dares?!
Xiao Cuan suddenly pushed him aside and kicked the door open.
“Your Majesty! No!”
Xie Yi held the door frame to steady himself and turned his head suddenly.
But in the next moment, the scene before them left both men stunned in place.
The room was empty, and the bedding on the couch was neat.
Where was there any trace of Yanzhi?!