The sachet was brought over. It was tiny, barely larger than the meat of a palm, in a pale pink color. A flower was embroidered on the front, looking utterly unremarkable no matter how one inspected it.
The three grown men surrounded the sachet for a while, utterly unable to discern anything magical about it.
The divine doctor picked it up and sniffed it. No reaction.
Tang Yan picked it up and sniffed it. Also no reaction.
The two looked at each other in dismay, then turned simultaneously toward Bo Ruofeng. Frowning, Bo Ruofeng picked it up, enduring the nausea of potentially losing his wits once more. His nose twitched twice, and his body stiffened like a wooden puppet.
“It is, it is…” Bo Ruofeng seemed to want to say something, but abruptly stalled, struggling to recall. Yet after a brief spell of rumination, not only could he no longer remember what he had intended to say, but even his gaze turned hazy, lacking its previous sharpness.
Sensing something was amiss, Tang Yan walked around to face him directly. Bo Ruofeng turned his head to meet his gaze. From the exterior alone, it seemed the sachet had no effect on Bo Ruofeng either, his pupils simply vacant and absent-minded.
Yet Tang Yan still felt something was bizarre. He stretched out five fingers and waved them before Bo Ruofeng’s eyes. “Young Master?”
The divine doctor, who had been observing quietly from the side, suddenly spoke up, “Something is wrong.”
Startled, Tang Yan turned to look closely. Bo Ruofeng still appeared perfectly normal. Snatching the sachet from Bo Ruofeng’s hand, Tang Yan watched as Bo Ruofeng blinked and looked down at his empty hand. Bending over, Tang Yan asked softly, “Young Master, do you still remember who you are?”
“Me?” With his consciousness blurred, Bo Ruofeng replied like someone talking in his sleep, “I am Bo Ruofeng. Who are you?”
That pair of pupils, which naturally carried three parts of a smile, were now devoid of spirit, staring straight ahead at him. This puppet-like state sent a chill crawling up the back of Tang Yan’s neck.
“He can still answer! But does he know what he is saying?” Tang Yan rubbed his arms, turned his head, and said to Chen Wushang, “I have never believed in ghosts and deities, but looking at the Young Master’s vacant state like this still creeps me out.”
“Neither god nor ghost; it is medicine. Just like sleepwalking.” The divine doctor stepped forward to check Bo Ruofeng’s condition, taking his pulse, his expression growing grim and stern. Pressing down on Bo Ruofeng’s shoulder, he said, “Marquis, you are tired. Lean back against the head of the bed and rest for a while.”
Following the pressure, Bo Ruofeng leaned back against the head of the bed, wearing a drowsy expression.
The divine doctor took the sachet from Tang Yan’s hand and walked over to the table. “Lend me the blade at your waist.” With that, he drew Tang Yan’s side sword, and with a single slash, cut a large opening into the sealed sachet, causing the aromatics to spill out.
Inspecting the spices, he said, “These aromatics have no effect on you or me, but their impact on the Marquis is this profound. Combined with the Marquis coughing up blood a month ago, I am afraid someone secretly fed the Marquis a similar drug before without his knowledge.”
“What?” Young as he was, Tang Yan could not suppress his emotions, feeling a mix of shock and fury. “Was it done by that Zhang Chao? I have heard that when the Marquis and his sister were attacked on their way back to the capital and fell off a cliff, he was the one who escorted the two of them back to the capital. Could it be that he did something to the Marquis during that time?”
His gaze shifted from the divine doctor’s face to the tabletop, the anger frozen solid on his features. Tang Yan extended two fingers to poke and prod at the aromatics. “This combination of medicinal herbs… I seem to have seen it somewhere before.”
“Where?” The divine doctor had not expected a mere guard by the Marquis’s side to have a clue.
However, Tang Yan’s pupils constricted. Hesitating with words on the tip of his tongue, he ultimately grabbed the hilt of his long saber. “You stay here and look after the Marquis. Do not leave under any circumstances until I return.”
“Where are you going?”
“I am going to see my master! This matter is of grave importance; it is no longer something you or I can resolve.” Tucking his saber back into its scabbard, Tang Yan hurried away.
When Bo Ruofeng first opened his eyes, the initial sight that greeted him was a rising and falling wall of black, pressing right against the tip of his nose. He blanked out for a moment, then turned his head to see that the sky outside was already blindingly bright. Memories slowly trickled back, reminding him of how the previous night, he, Chen Wushang, and Tang Yan had studied the sachet together.
He had picked up the sachet and brought it very close, and a pungent, heavy scent had rushed over him. His mind had gone completely blank, forcefully severing his body from his soul. He had watched Tang Yan and Chen Wushang converse, their mouths opening and closing, yet he could not hear a word they said, staring blankly like a wooden puppet.
The further along the time went, the more chaotic his memories became.
Bo Ruofeng raised a single finger and poked the black wall in front of him. It was soft yet firm, leaving a dent where he poked. What on earth was this? Goosebumps erupted across his skin in an instant, and he snapped his eyes wide open, completely waking up.
Something hard was pressing against the top of his head. Vigilantly looking up, he saw Fang Youcheng’s sharply chiseled jawline, clearly defining the contour of his face. It was precisely that chin resting upon his forehead. At this moment, that face was exceptionally close, eyes closed, breathing evenly and deeply. It was so close that even the individual roots of his eyelashes were clearly visible.
There was no black wall at all, it was unequivocally Fang Youcheng’s chest. Bo Ruofeng’s pupils constricted sharply, and looking down, he discovered that an arm was slung across his waist, holding him tight and pressing him hard against the chest as if he were a precious piece of warm jade.
Bizarre. Utterly bizarre! Having never shared a bed with another person, Bo Ruofeng reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He bounced straight up, flinging the quilt aside like a frightened bird and leaping onto the floor. Upon breaking away, he realized his neck had been cramped all night and felt rather uncomfortable. As he stretched his back, his bones emitted a faint clicking sound.
The commotion was so massive that it would have been impossible for Fang Youcheng not to wake up. Groping around in his arms, Fang Youcheng found only emptiness, which felt somewhat regrettable for early in the morning. Half-opened phoenix eyes reflected the back of the person before him. Remaining in bed, Fang Youcheng propped himself up lazily on his side, lifting his gaze to look at the figure stretching his back with his back turned to him.
Those shoulder blades jutted out, fluttering like butterfly wings across the back of the moving person, the smooth lines running all the way down to a lean, slender waist. Turning around and seeing that Fang Youcheng was also awake, Bo Ruofeng immediately widened his eyes and demanded accusingly, “What do you think you are doing!”
Fang Youcheng raised an eyebrow and said casually, “What do you think you are doing?”
One sentence, double meanings.
So he had done it on purpose? Regaining his wits, Bo Ruofeng took a large stride forward, gathered the quilt up into a ball, and dumped it onto a nearby low couch. With one hand on his hip and the other pointing an accusing finger through the air, he said, “Brother Cheng, you have a big bed of your own at home, yet you come over to cram into mine? Hey, I happen to still be a patient, you know!”
“I know.” Refusing to budge an inch, Fang Youcheng quite naturally usurped the entire bed, offering a foolproof excuse: “Tang Yan said last night that your illness flared up, so did I not come over through the night to check on you? It was too late, so I just did not go back.”
Bo Ruofeng put on a look of wanting to reason with him. “You almost had me believe that!” He stubbornly dragged at the man’s arm to haul him out of the bed, emphasizing, “The Marquis’s residence has guest rooms. How could sleeping in a guest room possibly wrong you? Two grown men squeezing together in this weather, if you are not afraid of the heat, I certainly am.”
Acting as though he had not heard a word, Fang Youcheng changed the subject. “You were not nearly this docile last night, Ruofeng.”
He was only docile because he had been drugged, wait, was he saying he was not docile now? No, wait, why on earth should he be docile! For a fleeting second, Bo Ruofeng’s brain spun through several bends before he realized he had been led astray. Growing angry enough to bite his teeth, his expression clearly spelled out: This is sheer unreasonableness!
Looking fierce and formidable, Bo Ruofeng declared, “No matter what you say, the fact remains that I dislike people getting too close to me. The next time Brother Cheng comes to check on me, you had better let Tang Yan guide you to a guest room instead.”
“I naturally know you dislike others getting close to you.” At this, Fang Youcheng’s expression shifted slightly. His phoenix eyes grew majestic, his tear troughs like deep abysses, quietly pooling light. The calm, unrippled emotions within them stirred into ripples. “But surely not me as well? You were never like this with me before. When did you start treating me with such distance?”
“Before was before.” Bo Ruofeng thought to himself, Why is this guy so competitive over such trivial matters? He quickly smoothed things over. “I do not remember you now anyway. In my eyes, you are just a stranger I happen to be a bit more familiar with. How can you compare to…” A bosom friend.
Before he could finish speaking, he looked up and met Fang Youcheng’s gaze. The temperature in those eyes was cooling bit by bit, locking onto him unwaveringly, cutting off the words in his throat.
“Compare to what?” Fang Youcheng asked in a flat tone. “Go on.”
That tone was cold enough to make Bo Ruofeng swallow his words right back down. Hesitating, he looked at Fang Youcheng’s less-than-stellar complexion, only then realizing the implication of his own words.
Brother Cheng had said they were close friends in the past, and besides, the other party had truly helped him quite a bit over the past month. Saying things like that now, was it not rather inappropriate? Remarks meant to draw clear boundaries like that were bound to hurt people. Furthermore, although he had lost his memories and did not know the full details, he could not use that as an excuse to act however he pleased.
Silently for a moment, Bo Ruofeng scratched his head, glanced at the sky outside, softened his tone, and changed his tune. “I mean, you scared the daylights out of me early in the morning. I thought some snake or other creature had crawled onto me… At least give me some time to slowly get used to it.”
Staring at his face, Fang Youcheng uttered not a single sound.
Amidst this sit-and-make-one-uneasy silence, Bo Ruofeng remained unbothered. He turned around, plucked a coat from the garment rack that clearly did not belong to him, and draped it over Fang Youcheng’s shoulders. His bright, sparkling eyes curved like crescent moons as he smiled open-heartedly. “Fine, fine, let us drop the subject. Thank you for coming to look after me last night, Brother Cheng, you have had a hard time. Let us have breakfast together.” Hooking one arm around Fang Youcheng’s neck to pull him down a bit, he cajoled, “Come on, humor me and share a meal?”
This was effectively his way of turning over a new leaf.
Hidden beneath his sleeves, Fang Youcheng slowly relaxed his tightly clenched fists. How could he not understand what Bo Ruofeng meant? He thought to himself: This fellow truly has not changed a single bit. Even when he dislikes something, he still looks out for other people’s feelings, making it practically impossible for me not to push my luck.
Ducking out from under the crook of Bo Ruofeng’s arm, he smoothly put on the coat and lowered his head to adjust his clothes. Suddenly, he opened both arms wide. “I almost thought you were going to cut ties with me. You scared the wits out of me this morning, too.”
“What cutting ties?” Bo Ruofeng thought he had misheard.
Without changing his expression, Fang Youcheng continued, “As an apology gift, you helping me put on my outer garment is not too much to ask, right?”
Bo Ruofeng was amused by these words. “You want me to wait on you? I might as well call Tang Yan over.” He turned to shout for someone, only to be grabbed back by Fang Youcheng.
The two stared at each other for a moment before Fang Youcheng raised his arms again.
Looking somewhat dazed, Bo Ruofeng stared at him sluggishly. Fang Youcheng lifted his chin at him, signaling him to hurry up and get to work.
“Tch, how can a person like you…” Muttering complaints, Bo Ruofeng picked up the belt, bent forward slightly, and looped both hands around the other’s waist. At that moment, a mischievous impulse struck him, and the corners of his lips curled upward. Yanking hard on both ends of the belt, he crossed them and tightened them so abruptly that Fang Youcheng let out a muffled grunt, making it clear just how much force he had used.
That is for daring to ask me to help you dress. In high spirits, Bo Ruofeng finished tying the belt securely and tossed out casually, “Needing someone to wait on you like this, you have got the posture of an emperor.”
Hearing this, Fang Youcheng, who was currently loosening his own belt to readjust it, paused his movements. “I am the emperor, so what are you? The empress?”
Assuming the other man was deliberately provoking him, Bo Ruofeng straightened his lapels, raised a hand with frivolous swagger to pat Fang Youcheng’s cheek, and lifted his chin with a provocative raise of his brow. “I am the Grand Emperor Dowager, your father, of course.”
Ordinarily, the other party would surely retort with something unconvinced. Bo Ruofeng waited for him to snap back, but Fang Youcheng merely smiled and said nothing. That smile was far too obvious. Not quite understanding what the other was smiling about, Bo Ruofeng asked, “Unconvinced?”
Fang Youcheng changed the subject. “I am hungry. Are you not? Hurry up and wash up so we can eat breakfast.”
Breakfast was served in the main hall. Once they had washed up, given that Bo Ruofeng’s legs had not fully recovered yet, the divine doctor forbade him from overexerting himself and had strict requirements for his rehabilitation hours, Fang Youcheng wheeled Bo Ruofeng along the bluestone pavement.
Halfway there, a sharp whistle sounded. Following the sound, Bo Ruofeng saw a figure leap out from a corner of the courtyard, hand an envelope to Fang Youcheng, and then use qinggong to fly away again. Back and forth like a bird, moving so fast it nearly blurred his vision.
It was unclear what was written in the letter, but Fang Youcheng’s expression had not changed from start to finish. After reading it, he crumpled it into a ball and squeezed it in his hand, actually reducing the entire thing to fine powder. Turning around, he saw Bo Ruofeng tilting his head and looking at him eagerly. That vibrant, lively appearance truly melted Fang Youcheng’s heart into mud.
Wheeling the man forward again, he lowered his voice considerably. “The wildman you mentioned staying at the Marquis’s residence last night had something suspicious about him, so I sent men overnight to investigate his background. Guess what I found out?”
Bo Ruofeng pondered for a long time on who this wildman was before realizing it was Zhang Chao, and could not help smiling amusedly. “He is definitely not some ordinary woodcutter. When I was talking to him earlier, his accent did not sound at all like someone from the deep mountains and old forests. But I will bet you have not managed to uncover his identity yet.”
“Oh?” Fang Youcheng grew interested. “Why do you say that?”
“The sachet must have been handed over by someone else. A full month passed in between; if it were something he made himself, he would have finished it and sent it over long ago. So he definitely has accomplices. In just one single night, even if you sent men out overnight to stake the place out, it would not be fast enough to catch an accomplice.” Bo Ruofeng reasoned.
“Then you are wrong.”
I am wrong? Refusing to believe it, Bo Ruofeng tilted his head to look up at the self-assured Fang Youcheng, only able to see his chin. “Where am I wrong?”
“The cause and effect are reversed,” Fang Youcheng said. “I did not need to send men to stake out a place; from the drugs that harmed you, I could already tell which faction sent him to harm you.” The voice was as soft as a whisper, like the cool wind rising right before a storm, sweeping chillingly across Bo Ruofeng’s face. “Your leg injuries were caused by war, your memory loss by the carriage ambush, and your physical weakness, coughing up blood, and blurred consciousness were because someone drugged you. But now, I suspect your memory loss is not as simple as merely hitting your head.”
Bo Ruofeng wanted to ask for clarification, but the already short path had come to an end. The doors to the main hall were wide open.
The hour was already late. Normally, Bo Ruofeng ate breakfast alone, but today, Bo Yueying was unexpectedly present. It looked as though she had been waiting specifically for him; seeing him arrive, she instructed the servants to fetch the warm breakfast from the kitchen.
“Second Brother, good morning.” Bo Yueying walked over to greet him. Bo Ruofeng glanced toward her waist, but it was bare, there was no sign of a new sachet.
Following his gaze, Bo Yueying looked down at herself, failing to spot anything unusual. “What is it?” Naturally, she knew nothing of what had happened last night.
Ever since the divine doctor took up residence right beside Bo Ruofeng’s courtyard, the number of times the household called for imperial physicians had genuinely plummeted. Whenever something came up, Tang Yan would haul the divine doctor over to Bo Ruofeng’s courtyard in a single leap. It was so close that very few people even knew about it, and the divine doctor reported Bo Ruofeng’s condition exclusively to Fang Youcheng.
Moreover, Bo Ruofeng was somewhat prideful; during his arduous rehabilitation, he disliked letting outsiders see him, wishing only to lightly stand up one fine day and break the news to his family and friends. Coupled with the fact that Fang Youcheng was as erratic as a ghost and refused to use proper doors, it had rubbed off on Bo Ruofeng, who had not used the front gate the few times he went out.
Thus, in Bo Yueying’s eyes, her second brother had suffered a devastating blow ever since waking up. His behavior was bizarre; dragging a sickly body while clinging to life, he hid in the manor refusing to step outside, possessing a somewhat reclusive, cut-off-from-the-world aura. That was why she could not help urging him repeatedly to enter the palace and pay respects to the Emperor.
Yet whether it was the itinerant doctor who suddenly moved in for an extended stay, or the newly added martial-arts-capable page Tang Yan, neither could be separated from the friends her elder brother kept mentioning.
Who on earth was this friend? And how did they manage to enter the estate without a single guard seeing them? Realizing the existence of a presence beyond her control, her long lashes fluttered down to mask the manifold conjectures in her eyes. When she lifted them again, she offered a light smile, her gaze sweeping past the person in the wheelchair to land upon Fang Youcheng with a hint of probing curiosity. “Is this the good friend my elder brother is always talking about? It seems I have not seen him before. Might I ask the young master’s esteemed name?”