Chapter 25 - 1#
Boarding - On the Boat! Xiao Cuan’s Duplicity…#
—“His Majesty’s verbal decree! Lift the ban!”
—“Open the city gates! Resume traffic!”
Two rows of personal guards on warhorses, holding high command flags, entered through the South City Gate and exited through the North City Gate, crossing the entire capital of Daliang.
Hoofbeats thundered, and the military orders spread, shaking the earth.
The civil and military officials who had been ordered to blockade the city and palace gates hurriedly dodged the commotion and bowed in salute upon hearing the news.
“Greetings, Your Majesty!”
His Majesty was leading the troops back to the city, so…
Had Young Master Yanzhi also been brought back?
General Wang, who guarded the South City Gate, and Lord Bian, who watched the southern palace gate, both instinctively looked up with worried gazes toward the front.
They saw the Emperor, dressed in a black inner garment, riding a tall warhorse, sweeping past them like a hurricane.
They couldn’t see the situation on the horse’s back clearly; they could only hear the Emperor’s sharp command—
“All disperse! Everyone go home!”
The Emperor, struggling to contain his fury, gave his whip a heavy crack and rode straight into the palace gates.
He left them with only an unfathomable back.
Lord Bian stroked the goatee on his chin, understanding the situation.
It seemed he hadn’t been found.
Young Master Yanzhi was truly clever, actually escaping the inescapable net His Majesty had cast.
It was only hard on them, the court officials. His Majesty said to stop searching now and for everyone to go home, but perhaps in a while, he would urgently send someone to summon them from their manors again to continue the search.
Regarding Young Master Yanzhi, His Majesty had always been inconsistent, issuing an order in the morning and changing it in the evening, never giving a straight answer.
One moment he disliked the boy’s low birth, the next he wanted to appoint him Empress.
One moment he said he was clumsy and thick-headed, the next he wanted the boy to pester him.
“Sigh—”
Lord Bian sighed, smoothed his robes, and finally stood up to leave.
Better go home. Buy two pieces of pastry for his son on the street, then lie down and rest for a bit.
Who knew when they’d be summoned to the palace by His Majesty again?
*
The Emperor galloped all the way, racing into the palace with such a menacing aura that no one dared stop him.
Arriving before the Taiji Hall, Xiao Cuan yanked the reins back, bringing the horse to a halt.
The previous horse had exhausted its strength; this one was a replacement from the return journey.
Abruptly reined in, the warhorse neighed, its two front hooves rearing up.
The entire horse stood solely on its two hind legs, freezing in the air for a moment before slamming back to the ground, kicking up a cloud of snow and dust.
Xiao Cuan remained steadily seated throughout. Just as the horse steadied itself, he tossed the reins aside, flipped off the horse, and strode up the stone steps before the hall.
The palace servants in the hall, hearing the commotion, hurried out to welcome him.
“Your Majesty!”
Yesterday was clearly the day of the grand wedding ceremony, yet Young Master Yanzhi had disappeared. His Majesty had left for the ceremony and hadn’t returned, and a massive state of emergency had been declared both inside and outside the palace.
The servants had their own faint suspicions, but no one dared speak them. They could only follow routine, keeping food and hot water ready at all times, awaiting the return of His Majesty and Young Master Yanzhi.
But now, as the group arrived before the hall and looked closely.
They saw His Majesty alone, his face taut and fists clenched, striding up the stone steps.
Under His Majesty’s arm, he seemed to be clutching something, but it clearly wasn’t a person, but rather…
Two sets of bedding?!
What was His Majesty doing bringing back two sets of bedding?
Where was Young Master Yanzhi? Had Young Master Yanzhi not returned?
The servants’ hearts sank, and they became even more focused, speaking with extreme caution.
“Your Majesty has been traveling for so long; would you like to wash up and have a meal?”
Xiao Cuan, however, said nothing, his gaze dark as he passed through them.
In the past, when he went out on business and left Yanzhi alone in the palace, inside the curtains.
Upon his return, he could see Yanzhi from afar, hiding behind a door or a curtain, peeking out cautiously.
As he drew closer, Yanzhi would be like a little bird, flapping its wings and flying to his side, circling around him to welcome his triumphant return.
One moment he’d want to remove his armor and take the weapons from his hands, the next he’d ask if he was thirsty or hungry, whether he wanted wine or tea, meat or snacks.
Xiao Cuan would find him annoying on one hand, yet couldn’t help but put an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into his embrace to show off to the accompanying officials, saying he was the best at vying for favor and couldn’t be away from him for a moment.
But now…
Yanzhi wasn’t there. Yanzhi had run away. Yanzhi would never again run out to welcome him as before.
For a brief moment, Xiao Cuan suddenly saw Yanzhi gripping a door with both hands, hiding behind it and looking at him timidly.
Xiao Cuan’s heart jolted, and he took two quick steps forward, wanting to grab him.
But in the next instant, Yanzhi seemed to be frightened by him and immediately hid back.
As if playing hide-and-seek with him, he vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Cuan tossed the bedding to a servant and strode across the threshold into the hall.
He had a premonition!
Could it be that Yanzhi hadn’t escaped the palace at all?
Could it be that Yanzhi had been in the Taiji Hall all along?
He had just accidentally fallen asleep, and while sleeping, had accidentally rolled off the bed and under it.
And then that group of servants hadn’t looked carefully; seeing no one on the bed, they had rushed off in a panic to say Yanzhi was missing.
Yes, that must be it!
He was so stupid; how could he be so stupid?
He had searched everywhere inside and outside the palace, but hadn’t thought to return to the Taiji Hall to look.
He should have come back here to search from the very beginning!
Without the Emperor’s order, the servants didn’t dare change the arrangement of the Taiji Hall.
Therefore, the hall still looked exactly as it did when he and Yanzhi had left.
Brocade covered the floor, and red silk hung high.
Xiao Cuan walked straight into the inner hall. At a glance, he saw the brocade quilts piled on the couch, with a small bulge underneath.
Xiao Cuan’s eyes lit up, and he let out a laugh for no apparent reason.
Here he is!
Yanzhi is here!
Isn’t Yanzhi right here? Isn’t Yanzhi just sleeping at home?
This idiot, how is he like a little pig, sleeping for a full two days and a night?
The people outside were in an uproar because of him, yet he could still sleep.
“Stupid to death.”
Xiao Cuan cursed with a smile, then lightened his footsteps, stepped forward, and pulled aside the curtains before the couch.
“Idiot…”
Xiao Cuan reached out as before, wanting to pinch the flesh on Yanzhi’s cheek and drag him out of the covers, but his hand met empty space.
There was no one under the quilt.
The quilt was empty.
The night before last, he and Yanzhi had slept on this very couch.
Yanzhi liked to pile the quilts together to make a round nest to sleep in.
After he got up, he hadn’t folded the quilts, so…
Xiao Cuan’s face suddenly turned icy, and he kicked the couch hard. The already loose couch shook even more.
He didn’t even fold the quilts before running away; was he leaving them for him to fold?
And his clothes hanging on the rack, his shoes by the chest, the pile of junk left in the hall!
He didn’t take any of it; was he leaving it all for him to clean up?
Yanzhi had eaten too many cream puffs himself; everything he wore or used smelled like cream, making the entire Taiji Hall smell like it too.
The Emperor’s bedroom had been turned into a pastry shop by him.
So sweet and cloying!
Xiao Cuan looked around, finally withdrew his gaze, and called out coldly: “Someone, come.”
Only then did a servant dare enter the inner hall: “Your Majesty.”
“Clear out all of Yanzhi’s things.”
He wouldn’t clean it up!
Since the person was gone, the things were useless anyway; just throw them all away!
After saying this, Xiao Cuan threw himself onto the couch.
With a loud clack, he crushed Yanzhi’s nest and lay on top of it.
The curtains before the couch fell. Xiao Cuan crossed his arms and turned on his side, his back to the servants.
The servants glanced at each other, hesitantly answered “Yes,” and then tentatively reached for the clothes on the rack.
But the next moment, the Emperor’s indifferent voice came from the couch—
“The clothes don’t need to be cleared.”
“Yes.”
The servant withdrew their hand and reached for the shoes by the chest.
“The shoes and socks don’t need to be cleared either.”
“Yes…”
The servant stood up and moved forward, reaching out again.
“The chests don’t need to be either.”
“We obey your command.”
Throughout, Xiao Cuan kept his back to them.
He didn’t even turn his head once; based only on the servants’ footsteps and the placement of Yanzhi’s items, he could tell what they were about to take.
The servant stood in the hall, looked around, and finally said: “Replying to Your Majesty, Young Master Yanzhi’s belongings were few to begin with. Aside from those just mentioned, there is nothing more to clear.”
Xiao Cuan was silent for a moment, then finally said: “The ones just now don’t count either; throw them all out together.”
“Yes.”
As if afraid they actually would, Xiao Cuan added another sentence: “Throw them back into his own room.”
“Yes…”
Seeing His Majesty’s back-and-forth behavior just now, the servants mostly understood in their hearts.
They deliberately slowed their movements, neatly packing Yanzhi’s leftover things and moving them to the side hall.
This time, His Majesty seemed to have fallen asleep and didn’t call a halt again.
But just as they were about to carry away the two clothes chests, His Majesty suddenly spoke: “Where are the two sets of bedding I brought back?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, they are in the outer hall.”
“Bring them in—” Xiao Cuan paused, then changed his mind, “take them to the side hall as well.”
“Yes.”
The group of servants finished packing and retreated quietly.
The hall doors closed, leaving Xiao Cuan alone in the inner hall.
He still lay on his side on the couch, arms crossed, brow furrowed, eyes closed.
He seemed asleep, yet also not.
After two days and a night of pursuit outside, even with his iron physique, Xiao Cuan should take a little rest.
But the next moment, Xiao Cuan snapped his eyes open, his gaze fierce.
This quilt also smelled of Yanzhi, this pillow also smelled of Yanzhi, this couch also smelled of Yanzhi!
This whole bed was filled with Yanzhi’s scent!
Others might not be able to smell it, but his sense of smell was sharp; he certainly could.
The fragrant, sweet scent drifted before him, constantly disrupting his thoughts and giving him no peace.
Xiao Cuan pulled a handkerchief from under the pillow and covered his mouth and nose with it.
A moment later, he crumpled the handkerchief into a ball and threw it away fiercely.
Damn it, this handkerchief was also Yanzhi’s!
Xiao Cuan sat up abruptly and looked around.
Yanzhi, Yanzhi, everything was Yanzhi!