By the time Yan Qushan woke up, the storm had already subsided.
Xiao Qi was leaning against the bed curtains, the corners of his upturned eyes bloodshot, looking as though he had stayed awake for several nights. Upon seeing Yan Qushan open his eyes, a flash of joy finally appeared on his face. “You are awake! Imperial Physician!”
The staff from the Imperial Academy of Medicine had been waiting outside for some time and filed in the moment they were summoned by their master. After bowing to Xiao Qi, they took Yan Qushan’s pulse. After a moment of silence, they understood the situation. The physician said, “Your Highness need not worry.”
“Fortunately, the amount of poison the Young Master consumed was not too great. The residual poison in his body has been cleared. From now on, he just needs to be slowly nursed back to health.”
Hearing this, Xiao Qi finally let out a sigh of relief. He waved his hand to dismiss the attendants and then turned his bloodshot eyes back toward Yan Qushan. He opened his mouth, originally intending to say something warm and concerned, but he was not one for soft words. After watching him for a while, he simply gave him a shove as if throwing a tantrum.
“Yan Qushan, have you gone mad?” Xiao Qi raised his eyebrows and shouted sternly with his hands on his hips. If one overlooked the irrepressible worry and the dazed look of a survivor in his eyes, he appeared entirely as though he were there to demand an apology.
“Since you knew that Heart-Breaking Powder could take a life, you actually dared to put it in your mouth. You,” he said, fuming with rage. He turned his back, gave his sleeve a sharp flick, and muttered, “You have truly seen a ghost.”
Yan Qushan had just woken up, and his handsome face was still pale, yet he had to find the energy to coax this ancestor. He looked up at Xiao Qi’s crimson and gold floral-patterned robe. His eyes narrowed for a moment before he lowered his gaze, coughed twice into a handkerchief, and said slowly, “Your Highness’s clothes today are quite beautiful.”
The fabric was exquisite and the embroidery precious; the vibrant water-red color made Xiao Qi’s skin appear as white as snow. Under the candlelight, it would not be an exaggeration to call him a celestial being descended to earth. Coupled with his cat-like, delicate demeanor, it seemed as though all the precious things in the world rightfully belonged to him.
Xiao Qi brushed his palm over the flowing brocade and said, “This was sent by the Internal Affairs Bureau a few days ago. Father ordered the seamstresses to rush this outfit out.” His words trailed off, and his face reddened as he whispered, “I also saved a bolt of cloth for you.”
“It is black. I will have someone deliver it to you tomorrow.”
Yan Qushan’s expression softened. “Your Highness is very thoughtful.”
Xiao Qi gave a huff of mock indignation. “It is merely something others left behind. You, if you do not hurry up and get well, I will not keep it for you. I will give it to Fang Hai instead.”
He simply wanted Yan Qushan to recover, yet he said it in such a roundabout way. Yan Qushan looked up at him again and said, “Although I was somewhat reckless, I ultimately did the right thing for Your Highness.”
“The Emperor cherishes Your Highness. In the future, you will no longer be bullied for no reason in this palace.” He gave a soft sigh. “I am happy in my heart.”
“Who cares about a madman like you?”
Yan Qushan gave a low laugh and then reached out to take Xiao Qi’s chin. His fingertips were cold, but the way they brushed against the soft skin was full of tenderness.
Xiao Qi stubbornly lowered his head, trying to twist his head away to prevent Yan Qushan from seeing his face, but his several attempts at resistance were futile.
Just as he was about to say in a fit of pique that Yan Qushan’s actions were impudent, he felt the fingertips on his chin move toward the corner of his eye.
The glimmering tears were wiped away, a wet trail that was eventually rubbed into Xiao Qi’s sideburns. Yan Qushan looked at him by the flickering candlelight. His cold, jade-white face showed a hint of lingering pity due to the affection in his eyes. He said, “Your Highness was frightened.”
“If you ever do this again, I will make things difficult for you!”
Xiao Qi looked at him hatefully. He tried his best to appear fierce, but his heart was filled with lingering fear, and his voice choked up. Yan Qushan brushed his face and then met his eyes, which were beginning to glare at him.
Yan Qushan lightly pressed a kiss onto Xiao Qi’s brow, extremely devout and gentle, as if treating a supreme deity.
This was a great irreverence, enough for Xiao Qi to punish him. Yet Xiao Qi’s heart beat so fast, and his entire body felt as though it were soaking in a warm pool.
The action was subconscious; Xiao Qi tilted his neck and pressed his lips against Yan Qushan’s. It was a clumsy, lingering movement, followed by a retaliatory bite that tasted of blood.
He felt incredibly hot. After the kiss, he pushed Yan Qushan back into the bedding with force, pulled the bed curtains shut, and left behind a sentence: “I have things to do. You rest first.” Then he hurried away.
Yan Qushan was left alone on the bed. He raised a finger to wipe the bead of blood from the corner of his mouth, remaining calm, as if Xiao Qi’s kiss was entirely within his expectations.
Standing outside the side room, Zi Zhu saw Xiao Qi come out with flushed cheeks. She could not help but wonder, “What is wrong, Your Highness? Why is your face so red? Is the charcoal burning too brightly in there, making you feel stifled?”
Xiao Qi patted his face. “It is nothing. I will be fine after catching some air.”
Zi Zhu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced back at Yan Qushan’s room, her eyes flickering, and then said, “Young Master Yan’s fortune is a hundred times greater than others. They say there is no cure for Heart-Breaking Powder, yet he managed to escape with his life.”
Xiao Qi paused upon hearing her words and said in a heavy tone, “You are not allowed to speak ill of Young Master Yan behind his back.”
“I just thought this matter happened too coincidentally,” Zi Zhu muttered.
“Coincidence or man-made, it is something that has already happened.” Xiao Qi turned to look at her coldly. “I know he is calculating, but I also know he truly wants what is best for me.”
After the incident that day, his father had summoned him again and comforted him well. Looking at Xiao Qi’s face, Emperor Jiande remarked with emotion, “You look more and more like your mother.”
Xiao Qi knelt before him and did not dare to respond.
Emperor Jiande helped him up. The look in his eyes as he gazed at Xiao Qi’s face was like longing yet also like resentment, a complexity that was hard to decipher. But in the end, he patted his shoulder and said, “I have not looked at you so closely in a long time.”
“I did not know you were so wronged in this palace.” Xiao Li sighed. “That day, the Empress said much, but it was all excuses to deflect blame. Only one thing she said was the truth.”
“Past events should not be entangled with an innocent prince. Over these years, I have wronged you.”
Xiao Qi bowed and said, “I do not dare to feel so, Father.”
“I have already issued a decree to execute Consort Li, and the Empress is still under confinement. In the future, I will protect you; you need not be afraid anymore,” the Emperor said.
“I thank you, Father.”
“You may withdraw.”
Xiao Qi walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and looked up at the high, thick walls of the square palace. He walked back along the snow-covered street. The incident had happened suddenly, but by today, he had finally calmed down and sorted things out.
He could guess that Yan Qushan had tampered with the plum blossom cakes, then followed the trail to find Qing’er and shift the blame to Consort Li.
Although Consort Li was foolish, she was not so stupid as to attack him directly at a palace banquet. It was likely that Yan Qushan had detected Consort Li’s methods beforehand and set a trap to lead her to her own destruction.
As for the Empress, the Emperor might not be entirely unaware of her innocence in the plum blossom cake case. However, the Emperor knew perfectly well whose hand was responsible for the fact that the palace concubines had produced no heirs for many years. He had long been dissatisfied, only held back by the lack of a thorough investigation by Yu Zhongqin. Since the plum blossom cake case had turned so ugly, he naturally took the opportunity to punish the Empress.
Even if it did not cause them fundamental harm, serving as a deterrent to reduce the power of the civil official faction was a good thing.
Yan Qushan’s move seemed like a dangerous gamble, but it killed two birds with one stone. It allowed Xiao Qi to protect himself and rise in the palace from then on, while also inciting the Emperor’s suspicion toward the civil official faction, making their lives difficult.
He was resentful that Yan Qushan had told him nothing, but that Heart-Breaking Powder in the plum blossom cakes was real. It was a lethal poison; the slightest mistake would have resulted in death.
In Xiao Qi’s life, this was the first time someone was willing to go to such lengths for him. Even if the matter was something Yan Qushan had calculated, he accepted it.
When Yan Qushan had collapsed on him with blood flowing from his Seven Orifices, he only felt fear. Xiao Qi did not even dare to think about what he would do if Yan Qushan truly died.
During the days Yan Qushan was unconscious, the hidden emotions in his heart emerged from the mist. It was a green yet heavy love, carrying a desperate reliance.
Perhaps before, Xiao Qi could still restrain his feelings, but after this incident, it was difficult to hide them anymore. Xiao Qi knew that in this life, his sincerity and love would only be entrusted to Yan Qushan alone.
But Xiao Qi did not understand. Did Yan Qushan do those things just to repay the favor of recognizing his talent, or did he also have feelings for him? Xiao Qi suddenly remembered the kiss pressed onto his brow earlier, and his face turned red instantly.
Perhaps, Xiao Qi rubbed his lips until they were bright red, remembering the sensation that seemed to linger on his lips.
Yan Qushan feels the same way about him, right?