Xiao Yanshi, by the Emperor’s grace, was granted seven days of exemption from attending the morning court.
He had hidden away in his estate for two days of peace, but on the fourth day, he was hauled out of his bed bright and early.
“Song Qingyuan!” Xiao Yanshi kicked out. The other party, caught off guard, took the blow and winced in pain, baring his teeth. “Hiss Xiao Er, you truly have a ruthless heart!”
“Ouch, my leg is broken!”
“Go on, keep pretending.” Xiao Yanshi casually draped a robe over his shoulders and walked to the outer room to bathe. By the time he had finished cleaning up and returned, Song Qingyuan had already started eating.
“The cook in your estate isn’t up to par. This porridge is far too thin; there isn’t even a scrap of meat in it. No wonder your brother is so thin… Ouch, it hurts!”
Song Qingyuan clutched his head, and Xiao Yanshi cast him a side-glance. “Is my brother someone you can gossip about?”
“Is that gossip?” Song Qingyuan felt deeply wronged. “I was just showing concern for your brother!”
While they spoke, Xiao Yanshi had finished his porridge in two gulps and was eating a steamed bun with pickled vegetables.
Song Qingyuan massaged his head while watching him. Although Xiao Yanshi was a military man, he was quite refined when eating; not a drop of soup or water spilled out. His appetite was decent, and he set his chopsticks down once he was nine-tenths full.
Song Qingyuan poured a cup of tea and handed it to him. “How long can you stay this time after returning?”
Xiao Yanshi took a sip of tea and set it down. “Until my elder sister is married off.”
“Then, regarding the Northern Frontier…” Song Qingyuan asked vaguely, but Xiao Yanshi understood his meaning.
“When my father was ambushed, he suffered injuries to his spleen and lungs. Aside from a few close aides, others thought the injuries weren’t serious, and he has long since recovered,” Xiao Yanshi’s eyes darkened. “Those barbarians have been probing us time and again, and Fu-ge has managed to handle them. Now that I am escorting my sister for her engagement, those barbarians will likely cause trouble for my father and Fu-ge again.”
“Fu-ge?” Song Qingyuan thought for a moment, finally digging up a person from his memory. “Fu Congqi?”
Xiao Yanshi nodded. “Yao Li cannot tolerate him, so my father kept him in the Northern Frontier.”
Song Qingyuan patted Xiao Yanshi’s shoulder with a look of sympathy. “In that case, I’m afraid Yao Li holds a grudge against both Elder Xiao and you.”
“Let him hold a grudge. They have plenty of old scores to settle anyway,” Xiao Yanshi said indifferently. “But what about you? Running over to find me so early today—what is it, is the Second Prince tormenting you again?”
At the mention of “Second Prince,” Song Qingyuan couldn’t help but rub his forehead. “For three days in a row, he has been sending things to my estate. If it were treasures, that would be one thing, but he keeps sending beauties. You don’t know, those young ladies—I can’t send them away, and I have nowhere to keep them. My father, that old stubborn fool, almost broke my leg yesterday when he saw them!”
Xiao Yanshi felt no sympathy for him at all; instead, he laughed heartily. “Breaking your leg wouldn’t be unjust. I’ve heard that your romantic encounters haven’t ceased in these years, and you even snatched a beauty from the grandson of the Duke of Loyalty. How is it? Is it really as the rumors say, that you kicked someone off a flower building?”
“That was just being frivolous in my younger years,” Song Qingyuan said, feeling somewhat embarrassed as his friend brought it up. He touched his nose. “Kicking him off the flower building is true, but I was also kicked off by his guards…”
Recalling how he and that little runt were both pitifully sprawled on the ground, wailing in pain, Song Qingyuan felt the past was too unbearable to look back on—especially that person’s impatient, high-and-mighty expression, which still gave him a heartache to remember.
“You were kicked off a flower building by a guard?” Xiao Yanshi cast him a look of disdain. Song Qingyuan felt he couldn’t keep his face, and in his haste, he shouted, “That was an ambush! Besides, that guard is my man now! You wouldn’t believe how miserably I’m tormenting him now; he…”
Song Qingyuan suddenly went silent.
Xiao Yanshi raised a brow. “Your man…” He crossed his arms, looking intrigued. “How come I didn’t know you had a taste for men now?”
“You certainly play quite wildly, huh!”
Song Qingyuan: “…”
Half an hour later, the “wildly playing” Song Qingyuan brought Xiao Yanshi to a flower building.
“Are you planning to have me kick you off this place again?” Xiao Yanshi leaned against the railing and looked down.
The three-story flower building had windows and railings all opening toward the street. Inside, there were seven or eight tables made of high-quality sandalwood, and the tea sets exuded a rustic and elegant air. If one ignored the faint scent of powder in the air, this place looked more like a refined and leisurely restaurant.
The women serving tea and pastries were neatly dressed, and apart from the occasional glimpse of a wrist when pouring tea, their etiquette and manners were on par with those of young ladies from wealthy families in Jiangling.
“Please, stop exposing my shortcomings,” Song Qingyuan begged repeatedly. “Since that incident, I haven’t come here in over half a year.”
“Fine, I’ll spare you for now.” Xiao Yanshi didn’t like prying into people’s private matters, so he didn’t bring up the “guard” again. However, after two cups of tea, there was still no sign of Xue Shao.
“This Second Prince must have been held up by something; it’s already been over an hour.” Song Qingyuan knew how much Xue Shao cared about Xiao Yanshi and leaned against the railing, peeking down repeatedly.
“Wait a little longer. If he doesn’t show up, we’ll do it another day.” Xiao Yanshi had drunk a stomach full of tea, and the pastries were cloying. His stomach was turning.
“Why the rush? There’s a whole row of beauties here; don’t you want to pick one to chat with you?” Song Qingyuan laughed merrily, determined to “satisfy the craving” for Xiao Yanshi, not realizing that the person in front of him wasn’t even interested in humoring him.
“Hey, are you… have you never ‘tasted meat’ (experienced intimacy) yet?” Song Qingyuan became interested, his eyes repeatedly darting toward Xiao Yanshi’s lower half.
As a result, a bone dish was thrown at him.
Song Qingyuan narrowly caught it.
“Looks like I guessed right!” Song Qingyuan was full of enthusiasm, leaping to Xiao Yanshi’s side in two steps, squinting and smiling. “Haven’t you met anyone you liked in all these years?”
He propped his chin up. “There are many exotic beauties in the Northern Frontier; perhaps you don’t like those, and instead… prefer the gentle and elegant ones of the South?”
Seeing Xiao Yanshi’s expressionless face, he guessed again. “Or perhaps the heroic and spirited type?”
“Surely you couldn’t like a man…”
Song Qingyuan made a long list of guesses. Xiao Yanshi hadn’t bothered to pay attention, but for some reason, upon hearing the last sentence, a figure suddenly appeared in his mind.
The winter chill was bitter, the night was desolate and vague, and a soft sword reflected the cold, glistening light.
Xiao Yanshi rubbed the rim of his cup with his fingertips, lost in his own thoughts.
“…Hey, why are you spacing out?”
“Xiao Er!”
“…Is this person possessed by a ghost? In broad daylight…” Song Qingyuan poked Xiao Yanshi’s arm. “Time to snap out of it!”
The moment Xiao Yanshi returned to his senses, his heart skipped a beat.
His gaze was too sharp, and Song Qingyuan paused, waving a hand in front of him. “What did you think of? Why do you have such an expression?”
“Nothing,” Xiao Yanshi deliberately suppressed the unexplained feeling in his heart, tapping the table. “I’ve drunk a stomach full of tea; it’s tasteless. Why not bring some wine and have a drink with me?”
Song Qingyuan looked at Xiao Yanshi and nodded. “I’ve been wanting to ply you with wine for a long time; today is just the day!”
The two were of one mind. Song Qingyuan told someone to bring over two jars, forgoing the wine vessels and using bowls instead.
Xiao Yanshi’s alcohol tolerance was average, but he didn’t flush when drinking. Clearly, he was already beginning to feel dizzy, but his face remained calm, so Song Qingyuan didn’t notice that he was already nearly drunk.
“Tell your brother the truth: do you really not have a confidant after all these years?” Song Qingyuan grabbed Xiao Yanshi’s arm and leaned in, the fire of gossip burning in his eyes.
“…Confidant?” Xiao Yanshi’s gaze was somewhat unfocused. “What is that?”
“Heh, you’re going too far. I’ve never kept anything from you, even the time I was chased through three alleys by my father when I was a kid running naked; I told you everything. You can’t be intentionally hiding things…”
“Tell me, is there someone you like?”
Song Qingyuan had also drunk quite a bit, and for some reason, his brain went blank, causing him to add, “If there are no women, a man can work too…”
“Man…” Xiao Yanshi blinked, the figure appearing in his mind again. He thought about it and said slowly, “There is…”
“Hmm?” Song Qingyuan had waited for a long time only to receive such an answer. He scratched his head. “There is what?”
“A man.” Xiao Yanshi hiccuped. “Growing up until now… such a beautiful one… he is the only one.”
Although Song Qingyuan’s brain wasn’t entirely clear, he reacted violently at this moment. His eyelids twitched, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Do you mean… you’ve taken a fancy to a man?”
After asking, he was the first to shudder.
But he didn’t get a follow-up. Xiao Yanshi slowly stood up from the table, swaying as he walked to the window, and exhaled slowly while leaning against the window frame.
Then…
Then he didn’t move.
Song Qingyuan was bewildered and stood up, walking to Xiao Yanshi’s side. “Drank too much? Feeling uncomfortable?”
“…Mm, a little.” Xiao Yanshi clung to the window, looking off into the distance at the people coming and going.
The weather was great, and the accumulated snow had melted. Pedestrians stepped down, soaking their boots first, and the mud splashed up, cunningly sticking to their lifted hems.
It made one feel somewhat unhappy.
“How about I have someone take you back first?” Song Qingyuan’s stomach was churning, and he assumed Xiao Yanshi couldn’t be feeling much better.
He had originally thought that this guy, having drunk the strongest wine in the Northern Frontier, wouldn’t be downed by the soft and delicate wine of Jiangling. Little did he know that half a small jar of wine was enough to make him dizzy enough to lose his sense of direction.
“…Wait a little longer.” Xiao Yanshi’s eyes were unfocused. Fearing that he might accidentally fall from there, Song Qingyuan reached out and supported his shoulder, saying perfunctorily, “Waiting for what?”
“The Second Prince probably won’t be able to come today…”
“It’s not him.” Xiao Yanshi turned his head. “I am waiting for…” Before he could finish his sentence, Xiao Yanshi’s eyes lit up.
Song Qingyuan didn’t understand, but he followed Xiao Yanshi’s gaze. At the end of the alley, a white figure approached slowly, seemingly carrying a few packages of pastries.
Then, a few children in rags darted out from the other side, almost pouncing on that person.
That person revealed a smile.
The pastries in his hands were soon divided up completely. The dirty hands of that group of children left countless mud spots on his clothes, but it didn’t cause him to feel even a hint of displeasure; he still smiled gently.
Such things were too common, and Song Qingyuan had no interest in it, so he soon averted his gaze.
“It’s cold by the window; take care not to let the wind in, or you’ll have a headache tonight.” Song Qingyuan wanted to pull Xiao Yanshi back, but the man seemed nailed to the spot, not moving at all.
Song Qingyuan was perplexed and tugged again.
The alcoholic haze on Xiao Yanshi dispersed, but those eyes crossed the countless pedestrians on the street, fixedly watching that white figure.
Clearly, he had lost himself.
Song Qingyuan glanced down again, suddenly paused, and then looked at Xiao Yanshi with hesitation. “Do you recognize him? That’s the third young master of the Grand Princess’s mansion who just recently reclaimed his ancestry… but he’s just a dispensable illegitimate son!”