Chapter 34 - 1#
New Year’s Eve; Zhi-zhi Spends the New Year, Mad Dog Goes Crazy#
“Little Yan, good news! Good news!”
At noon this day, Yan Zhi was setting up his stall at the market to sell cakes as usual.
Most of the townspeople had gone home for lunch, so there weren’t many customers. The other stallholders nearby were also feeling lazy and weren’t talking much.
Yan Zhi sat on a small stool, his face cupped in his hands, lost in thought.
Just then, a familiar voice came from a distance.
Yan Zhi looked up and saw Chu Yu driving the donkey cart, loaded with bags and bundles, waving a willow branch whip as he hurried toward him.
“Hey! I’m over here!”
The donkey cart was moving too slowly, and Chu Yu was a bit impatient; he simply jumped off and ran over.
When he reached Yan Zhi, Yan Zhi stood up, took out his water pouch and cup, and poured him a drink.
“Here.”
“Thanks.” Chu Yu took the cup, tilted his head back, and gulped it down.
Yan Zhi leaned on his hands, looking at him curiously. “Did your trip to the city to get supplies go smoothly?”
“Mhm.” Chu Yu nodded. “I got both brown and white sugar, and even bought some tea. I’ll make you milk tea when we get back tonight. Since we bought a lot, it was quite a bit cheaper.”
“That’s good.”
Shiyan Town was too small. For ordinary families, a little bit of sugar or flour was enough. Since they used a lot for making pastries, it was more cost-effective to get supplies in the city.
The so-called “city” wasn’t actually a large place; it was just a small city relatively close to them.
Chu Yu added, “I asked the sugar merchant. We don’t have cow’s milk here, but he said he can keep an eye out and ask the cargo ships coming from the west and north. Since the weather is cold now, the milk won’t sour by the time it gets here.”
“Once we have milk, I can make you—”
Chu Yu looked around and lowered his voice. “Cream. With cream, we can make cream puffs.”
“Great!” Yan Zhi was overjoyed. “Thank you, A-Yu.”
“There’s one more piece of good news.”
“What?”
Chu Yu cleared his throat, placed his hands on his hips, and said loudly, “There will be a fireworks display in the city during the Lantern Festival!”
As soon as he said this, the sleepy stallholders all looked up, and Yan Zhi’s eyes widened.
“What? Fireworks?”
“Really?”
“Yes!” Chu Yu said. “When I went into the city this morning, I saw a notice posted at the city gate. Fireworks for the Lantern Festival. They say the officials arranged it and specifically invited craftsmen from the north.”
“That’s rare. We haven’t had fireworks to watch here in previous years.”
“I wonder what’s different about the fireworks from the north compared to ours.”
The crowd became interested and discussed it enthusiastically.
“Little Yan, you’ll definitely be going, right? Can I hitch a ride on your donkey cart? I’ll pay you!”
“Take me too! Little Yan, take me too!”
“Fireworks are bound to be set off at night. Do you have relatives in the city? You can’t let Little Yan drive at night; it wouldn’t be good if the cart overturned.”
“I do. I have a cousin-aunt in the city; I’ll stay at her place.”
“Give it a rest, you were arguing with her on the street last year.”
“I mean, it’s fireworks; they go up into the sky. We can see them from the town too. Why go through all the trouble to run to the city?”
“How can that be the same? In the city, the fireworks must look huge!”
While they were talking, Chu Yu turned to Yan Zhi and said, “Little Yan, we have to seize this opportunity.”
Yan Zhi stood before him, tugging at his sleeve, appearing lost in thought.
“Many people will surely go to the city on the night of the Lantern Festival. We should make more sugar cakes to sell there. We can earn money and watch the fireworks at the same time.”
Seeing him dazed, Chu Yu waved his hand in front of him. “What are you dazing off for?”
“A-Yu…” Yan Zhi snapped out of it and said softly, “I… I won’t go to the city. I’ll stay home and make pastries.”
Seeing his troubled expression, Chu Yu probably guessed something and lowered his voice. “Are you afraid of being caught?”
“Mhm.” Yan Zhi nodded seriously.
He was just thinking that the officials in the south must also be following the Emperor’s orders.
The Emperor suddenly having them set off fireworks might be to celebrate with the people or to celebrate the unification of the world, but it could also be—
For him.
Yan Zhi wasn’t so conceited as to think the Emperor set off fireworks just for him to see. When he was by the Emperor’s side, the Emperor didn’t even let him look for long. Now that he had run away, it was even less likely the Emperor would let him see them.
It was likely a trap to catch him.
“Surely not? We’re so remote here. Besides, when I went into the city this time, I specifically looked around. There were no soldiers on guard, everything was as usual.”
“The Emperor and I have seen fireworks together before, but… it ended before I could really see them. So I suspect it’s possible the Emperor is doing this to lure me out, so…”
“Makes sense.” Chu Yu thought for a moment and stopped forcing him. “Then don’t go. Watching from home is the same.”
“Okay. You should also be careful while traveling outside.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
Chu Yu comforted him with a few words and then drove the donkey cart home. Sugar would melt if left in the sun for too long; he had to put it away quickly.
Yan Zhi watched him leave and finally sat back on the stool, his chin resting on his hand and his face wrinkled with worry.
Logic told him he had hidden far and remote enough. Even if the Emperor searched town by town, it would be impossible to find him so quickly.
But…
He felt a tightness in his chest, very uncomfortable.
Yan Zhi had always been able to sense the Emperor’s aura and pressure. It was extremely dominant and overbearing, sweeping in like a violent storm.
The pressure had gradually weakened when he was far from the Daliang Palace. But now, the pressure had reappeared and was becoming increasingly obvious.
It was as if a beast was hidden somewhere he didn’t know, its eyes fixed on him, treating him as prey, its footsteps silent as it slowly approached.
He didn’t know when the beast would leap from the woods and bite the back of his neck.
At this thought, Yan Zhi hurriedly clutched his neck and looked around.
He… was still afraid.
Yan Zhi loved watching fireworks and joining in the fun. With fireworks and acrobatics, it was impossible for him not to come.
Xiao Cuan sat at his desk, a map spread out before him.
On the map, a red line had been drawn with cinnabar, running south from the capital of Liang to Huai Prefecture—a route following the waterways.
He had just summoned Old Man Wei and several cargo ship workers and questioned them in detail about the route of their last voyage; this was the one.
The ship’s destination was Huai Prefecture, and it had indeed docked there.
However, Yan Zhi had disembarked midway.
Perhaps Yan Zhi had instructed them beforehand, because Old Man Wei and the workers stubbornly refused to admit that Yan Zhi had been on their ship.
Xiao Cuan had originally wanted to have Old Man Wei and the workers taken away for interrogation under torture to force a confession.
But…
He slammed his desk hard, meeting their terrified gazes.
In the next instant, the faces before him twisted and shifted, finally turning into Yan Zhi.
—Yan Zhi stood before him.
Yan Zhi tugged at his sleeve, his face wrinkled, looking at him as if on the verge of tears.
Yan Zhi looked up, his eyes filled with tears, and said to him—
“Your Majesty has already kicked Xie Yi once, and Your Majesty has already sent Xie Yi to the eunuch quarters. What more is Your Majesty unsatisfied with?”
“Your Majesty, I only have these few friends. Does Your Majesty intend to beat them all?”
“If so, I…”
—“Of course I am unsatisfied!”
Xiao Cuan slammed the desk again. The others didn’t know who he was talking to and could only hurriedly kneel down.
Of course he was unsatisfied!
If he weren’t afraid of making Yan Zhi cry again, he would have loved to kill Xie Yi. And Old Man Wei, and Chu Yu. Kill them all!
Yan Zhi’s eyes should only hold him, and Yan Zhi’s heart should only hold him.
Back when Yan Zhi was there, he didn’t even want to let Yan Zhi look at the fireworks for more than a second. Could he tolerate Yan Zhi always looking at others?
But just then, the Yan Zhi before him also knelt down with the others, bowing his head.
He said, “I am willing to trade ten years of hard labor for all my friends to live in peace.”
This was the message Yan Zhi had sent him through that old gatekeeper when Xiao Cuan went to Xie Yi’s villa a month ago.
Although the words were spoken by the old servant, Xiao Cuan naturally imagined how Yan Zhi looked when saying them.
Yan Zhi would have his eyes lowered, his mouth drooping, and tears trembling on the verge of falling.
Pitiful and aggrieved.
If he didn’t give in, Yan Zhi would burst into tears the next moment.
The hand Xiao Cuan had pressed on the desk gradually clenched into a fist.
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Cuan finally softened his tone and said indifferently, “Leave.”
Old Man Wei and the workers finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, thank you, sir.”
“Give each of them a gold cake. Consider it—” Xiao Cuan paused. “The fare I’m paying for Yan Zhi.”
Old Man Wei hurriedly said, “No, no, no, Young Master Yan Zhi already paid…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake and hurriedly slapped his own mouth.
Damn it! Hadn’t he just confessed?
He looked at Xiao Cuan nervously. “Sir, I mean… we never carried Young Master Yan Zhi, so…”
Xiao Cuan let out a light snort, seemingly unconcerned by the slip of the tongue. He lowered his head and stroked something hidden under the desk.
Without looking up, he continued, “Leave. What he paid is his, and what I give is mine. Thank you for looking after him on the way and for not letting him end up on a pirate ship or killing him.”
“Yes, thank you, sir.”
Old Man Wei bowed and left with the workers.
The officials below would give them the promised gold cakes. Once the door closed, Xiao Cuan silently took out the inner garment hidden under the desk.
Indeed, while talking to them, he had been stroking Yan Zhi’s inner garment. If not for Yan Zhi’s scent, he would have lost control long ago and had them dragged away.
Xiao Cuan frowned, looking at the red line on the map, and picked up the cinnabar brush again to draw an oval around the line, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom.
The south was mountainous, and Yan Zhi’s pace wasn’t fast; even with a donkey, he couldn’t have gone far.
He remembered that Auntie Yang first appeared on the affection panel exactly when Old Man Wei’s ship arrived in Huai Prefecture.
Counting the days, if Yan Zhi disembarked as soon as he reached the south, he would have had five or six days to travel. If he disembarked midway, it would be three or four days, and the distance would be even shorter.
So Yan Zhi definitely couldn’t have jumped out of this circle. The search area had narrowed significantly.
Xiao Cuan’s frown deepened. He took out another piece of paper and listed the names of the towns within the circle from south to north.
He scheduled them from New Year’s Eve to the Lantern Festival, one town per day, filling the schedule.
Xiao Cuan summoned his close ministers and handed them the paper.
“Arrange fireworks displays according to the order on this paper.”
“Have the Huben Battalion coordinate with local officials. On the day of the fireworks, guard the city gates and inspect the people entering and leaving. The soldiers should dress as commoners and must not wear armor or helmets.”
“Once Yan Zhi is spotted, do not alert him. Follow him secretly and find out where he lives.”
“I—” Xiao Cuan folded Yan Zhi’s inner garment and tucked it into his bosom, then stood up.
“Will set out immediately and go with you.”
The two ministers and the personal guards bowed and took the order. “Yes!”