A bright, full moon hung high in the vast firmament amid a sea of sparkling stars. Standing before the tightly shut, towering iron gates of the heir’s estate, Chu Yue gazed out as a biting cold wind swept in unceremoniously through the gaps in his clothing, causing him to shiver. Only then did he recover from his utter disbelief.
Was he actually thrown out by the other party?
Chu Yue parted his lips, looking up in a daze at the starry sky, and after a long while, delivered a fierce knock to his own head.
He had been impulsive! Impulse was the devil!
He was Mei Lingze now; why on earth had he run over here for no reason to throw such a temper tantrum? In Chu Yi’s eyes, he was probably viewed as someone whose mind wasn’t quite right at this point.
Sighing, Chu Yue decided to plan things out more carefully. He now deeply regretted having Mu Qing and the driver return to the estate first; he had foolishly assumed that even if they didn’t talk by candlelight through the night, they would at least enjoy a pleasant conversation, never expecting that an impulse would get him chased away by Chu Yi.
It was already curfew time. On Chang’an Street, the cold wind howled and the gates were tightly shut. Occasionally, one or two stray cats darted across the street. Chu Yue tucked both hands into his sleeves, hugging his arms as he walked along in deep thought.
Ever since waking up, Chu Yue had not had a chance to understand the current political situation. From Zhao Jun, he had learned that the Crown Prince had passed away, and currently, supporters of the Prince of Yong’s heir filled the imperial court. In Chu Yue’s impression, the Prince of Yong’s heir, Chu Lian, was a conventional person lacking any particular talent, and back in the day, he had never heard any rumors of Chu Lian forming political factions, yet somehow he had picked up a bargain.
Chu Lian’s current position must have been tacitly approved by the Emperor, meaning the Emperor supported the Prince of Yong’s family. The Empress Dowager bringing Chu Yi back to Shangjing was presumably to oppose the Emperor’s decision. The Empress Dowager’s maternal clan was the Anyuan Marquis family; just how much power could the Anyuan Marquis wield to make the Emperor wary?
Could it be the Eldest Princess?
Following this line of thought, Chu Yue suddenly realized: the Eldest Princess Anping was the Empress Dowager’s only daughter and also Chu Yue’s own aunt. The Eldest Princess had doted on Chu Yue since childhood, and although she hadn’t interacted much with Chu Yi, Chu Yi was her only nephew. It was only natural for her to support the Empress Dowager. Mentioning the Eldest Princess inevitably meant mentioning her husband’s family, the Chief Minister Wen Junhan. The Taiyuan Wen clan was, after all, a prominent aristocratic family.
He wondered which figures in the court were supporters of Chu Lian.
Lowering his head in deep rumination, Chu Yue paced the empty street, only to have his path abruptly blocked by someone.
“Such audacity! Daring to roam about Chang’an Street during curfew!”
Lifting his head, Chu Yue saw more than a dozen patrolling soldiers holding sabers with fierce, menacing expressions. The leader finished speaking and immediately reached for his weapon.
“My lord, please calm your anger. I accidentally wandered onto Chang’an Street and am leaving right now!”
After forcing a smile, Chu Yue prepared to slip away, but the leader let out a cold snort. “Do you take us Imperial Guards for fools? Arrest him!”
Receiving the order, the dozen or so soldiers swiftly swarmed forward and surrounded Chu Yue completely.
Chu Yue inwardly cursed his bad luck. If he fought the Imperial Guards, his remaining days might not be spent rotting in the heavenly prison, but the Mei family would definitely be implicated because of him. If he just let himself be arrested like this, the worst that would happen was spending a few days locked up before getting another beating from Mei Huaixian upon returning.
The Imperial Guards gave him no time to think, already pulling out ropes to bind Chu Yue tightly.
“I will go with you, there is no need to tie people up!”
“Less nonsense! We will talk once we reach the Imperial City Bureau.”
The Imperial City Bureau? Chu Yue suddenly remembered and smiled. “I am a good friend of your Commander Xing, and I am Mei Lingze, the son of Lord Mei, the Libationer of the Imperial Academy.”
As soon as those words fell, the Imperial Guard leader raised a hand to signal his men to halt, walked up to Chu Yue, and looked him up and down. “You are Mei Lingze?”
Curious, Chu Yue asked, “The military officer knows me?”
The leader let out a loud laugh, accompanied by mocking chuckles from the others. Though Chu Yue didn’t know what kind of incidents related to Xing Li had happened to Mei Lingze, they were definitely hilarious.
Sure enough, the leader raised the hilt of his saber to hook Chu Yue’s chin. Chu Yue’s mind went completely blank; in all his life, no one had ever dared to provoke him like this!
“This face of yours is certainly flawless! What a pity our Commander looks down on you!” The leader clicked his tongue twice. “Why don’t you see how this lord is? Come have some fun with this lord tonight, and this lord will let you go.”
A burst of laughter erupted from his subordinates.
“You… what did you say!” Chu Yue clenched his fists, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
The patrolling leader was treating Chu Yue’s gaze as if he were looking at a favored boy in a pleasure house.
“I said… ah!”
Before the leader could finish, Chu Yue kicked him flying several yards away. Chu Yue used almost all his strength with that kick; even if the man didn’t end up crippled, he would need half a year of recovery.
Seeing this, the surrounding soldiers drew their sabers. Chu Yue cast aside his previous amiable demeanor, his gaze turning cold and imposing. Though the dozen or so soldiers surrounded him tightly, none dared to make a move. The atmosphere instantly grew tense and heavy, broken only by the groans of the man on the ground.
The tense scene was interrupted by a round of applause. Xing Li appeared out of nowhere atop a nearby roof, his wide sleeves fluttering in the wind. The dark hair at his temples contrasted with the bright moonlight, softening the sharpness of his face as his robes billowed, outlining his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and tall, slender build. Had he not been dressed in black, he truly looked like an immortal descended from the heavens.
Recognizing that the figure on the roof was Xing Li, everyone below dropped to their knees—except for Chu Yue.
Xing Li’s lightness skill was exceptionally proficient; under normal circumstances, Chu Yue would have noticed him long ago, but who knew how long Xing Li had been standing up there watching the joke.
In the blink of an eye, Xing Li was standing right in front of Chu Yue.
Seeing Xing Li made Chu Yue want to bolt; his earlier anger had been completely doused by this bucket of ice-cold water from Xing Li.
“If Commander Xing has nothing else, I will be leaving.” Chu Yue broke the silence, speaking somewhat sheepishly.
“You think you can leave just like that?”
Chu Yue: “…”
Was he really going to be arrested?! He had witnessed Xing Li’s methods before; if he had to experience them all over again in this lifetime, he could only pray for a quick death.
Xing Li walked over to the groaning leader on the ground and said unhurriedly, “Not just anyone can enter this general’s Imperial City Bureau, but I will give you a chance.”
The fallen soldier had originally thought Xing Li was here to back him up; though he was in too much pain to speak, he had already prepared a whole set of Imperial City Bureau torture methods in his mind to use on Chu Yue, never expecting the chance was meant for himself.
The soldier tried to open his mouth to beg for mercy, but after coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood, he passed out from fright.
“Take him away.”
At Xing Li’s single command, the soldiers behind him scrambled away like frightened birds, hauling the injured man with them.
Chu Yue realized that Xing Li had changed. On the surface, he remained as cold and ruthless as ever, but inside, he seemed much softer than before. The former Shadow Guard Commander Xing Li had never left captives alive; human life in Xing Li’s eyes was nothing more than grass or a speck of dust.
“If Commander Xing has no further business, I will return to the estate.”
Chu Yue gave Xing Li a salute, and seeing that Xing Li remained silent, he took it as tacit approval and quickened his pace.
Xing Li followed closely behind like a plaster persistent on the skin.
With someone like that trailing behind him, Chu Yue felt his scalp prickle.
Fortunately, Funing Street was not far from Chang’an Street. As they reached the street entrance, the bustling atmosphere grew stronger. Lanterns were lit all around, guests streamed continuously through the doors of the pleasure house, and roadside vendors enjoyed booming business.
Having gone all day without food, Chu Yue caught the fragrance of noodles and followed the scent straight to the “Have Another Bowl” noodle stall.
The owner was kneading dough nearby, and upon seeing Chu Yue arrive, he immediately walked over. “Would Young Master Mei like some noodles?”
Chu Yue smiled. “The boss recognizes me?”
The owner was stunned. “It is me, Old Zhu! Young Master Mei often comes here to eat noodles.”
“Ah, right, I remember now, Boss Zhu. I was asleep for too long, so my memory of many things has grown fuzzy.” Chu Yue scratched his head in embarrassment.
Boss Zhu said, “Young Master Mei is a blessed person; all adversities will turn into good fortune in the future.”
“I’ll take your auspicious words, Boss. Give me a bowl of noodles!”
“Coming right up!”
Guided by the assistant, Chu Yue prepared to sit down. Before he even took his seat, Xing Li plopped down right across from him.
Unsurprised, Chu Yue said calmly, “Boss, bring another bowl of noodles.”
“Coming right up!”
In a moment, the assistant brought over two bowls of beef noodles. Chu Yue pulled out a pair of chopsticks and quietly focused on the noodles in his bowl.
Xing Li stirred his noodles around with his chopsticks a few times, then asked lazily, “When did you start holding your chopsticks in your right hand?”
Chu Yue froze all over. What did Xing Li mean? Could it be that Mei Lingze used his left hand to hold chopsticks? Remaining silent for a moment, Chu Yue replied, “Is Commander Xing drunk again? When did I ever use my left hand to hold chopsticks? Could it be that I lost my memories?”
Xing Li curved his mouth into a smirk. “I get drunk every day, my brain isn’t working well, I must have remembered wrong.”
The heart hanging in Chu Yue’s chest finally dropped back down. Xing Li was indeed probing him. After so long, no one in the Mei family had ever questioned Chu Yue’s use of his right hand for chopsticks, and since Mei Lingze had a callus where he held his writing brush on his right hand, there was no way he could be left-handed.
“I remember when you came to find this general before, you said you wanted to enter the Imperial City Bureau to stay by my side, and even offered yourself to me, asking if I had a penchant for male lovers.”
The chopsticks in Chu Yue’s hand snapped as they hit the ground.
Xing Li’s voice wasn’t loud, spoken as if just for Chu Yue to hear. Chu Yue didn’t lift his head for a long time; the chopsticks fell in shock, and his jaw dropped right along with them.
No wonder Zhao筠 always said Mei Lingze yearned for Xing Li, it turned out his phrasing was extremely accurate, and it was Chu Yue who lacked brains!
No wonder those soldiers on Chang’an Street had mocked him earlier!
This time, what Xing Li said was probably true, but Chu Yue would rather die than admit it. “In my view, Commander Xing has had too much to drink and is prone to hallucinations. Commander Xing holds a high and powerful position, how could Mei Lingze ever dare to sully your reputation, sir?”
“Are those sincere words?” Xing Li leaned in closer with a smile. “Perhaps I really do have a penchant for male lovers, do your words still count?”
Chu Yue’s three souls and seven spirits had long since parted ways, leaving his mind an utter mush. He shot up to his feet. “I… I don’t remember! I definitely didn’t say that.”
Turning around, Chu Yue bolted, but after taking a few steps, he hurried back, dropped a small piece of silver, and fled posthaste.
Smiling without a word, Xing Li stood up and gave chase.
Walking quickly in front, Chu Yue suddenly stopped and turned around, crashing headlong into Xing Li’s solid embrace. Xing Li immediately raised his arms to wrap around Chu Yue.
The moment he touched Xing Li’s firm chest, the tips of Chu Yue’s ears flushed crimson. Had Chu Yue looked up at that moment, he would have seen that Xing Li was faring no better, but Chu Yue’s face was burning too hot for him to care about observing anyone else. Keeping his head lowered out of fear that Xing Li might see through his facade, Xing Li’s hand trembled slightly as it rested on Chu Yue’s shoulder before slowly releasing him once Chu Yue stood steady.
The two stepped aside in opposite directions to give each other room, then awkwardly exchanged a glance.
“Was there something you wanted to tell me?” Xing Li’s normal tone eased Chu Yue’s flustered state of mind.
“Um… that soldier from earlier… please spare him, Commander Xing.”
“Alright.”
“Mhm, then… I’ll head back to the estate first.”
“Alright.”
Just as he stepped through the gates of his estate, Chu Yue began to fret. Why had he acted so out of sorts just now? It was just a few teasing remarks from Xing Li, was there any need to blush like that? He was flirting with Mei Lingze, not you; what are you blushing for!
The more Chu Yue thought about it, the angrier he got. Walking up to a pillar along the veranda, he delivered a fierce punch to it and clutched his forehead in regret.
Mu Qing had been waiting near the gate for a long time without seeing his young master return, only to turn around and find his young master miraculously appearing in the courtyard.
“Young Master!” Mu Qing’s voice was always booming.
Startled, Chu Yue felt his heart leap. “Mu Qing! Speak less from now on!”
Covering his mouth, Mu Qing said, “I’ll definitely change next time.”
Clutching his chest to calm down, Chu Yue asked, “Were you looking for me?”
Nodding repeatedly, Mu Qing said with a breathless voice, “My lord wants you to go to the ancestral hall and find him as soon as you get back.”
That tone sounded an awful lot like gloating. Contemplating for a moment, Chu Yue said, “I know. You go about your business.”
Mu Qing added in a soft whisper, “My lord looks really angry, you know? You’d better be careful!”
Chu Yue sighed. “Forget it, you’d better just speak normally. Talking to me like this is going to get you beaten anyway.”
Dejected, Mu Qing lowered his head.